


The Curse of the 13th Ghost

by PerkyGoth14



Category: Dexter's Laboratory, Ed Edd n Eddy, Life and Times of Juniper Lee, Mike Lu & Og, Scooby Doo - All Media Types, Total Drama (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-27 20:37:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 26,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17773838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerkyGoth14/pseuds/PerkyGoth14
Summary: Mystery Inc solves yet another mystery, but with a twist: they get the case wrong and they get in serious trouble with the law, so they're forced to retire as detectives. Everybody in Cartoon Network City is pretty much miserable with this, especially Cindy, the Eds, Mike, June, and Dee Dee, but an old face calls them back to capture a ghost after more unfinished mystery business is left undone.





	1. Chapter 1

Our story begins with a small beginning which is a very long time ago. A mouse was shown scurrying off and found some food for himself and was about to eat it before panicking as the other animals of the forest were stampeding away in a panic which made the mouse join them. Three people were seen running together as they were on some sort of expedition, two men and one woman.

"Here, the chest! Now, Vincent!" One man told the other.

The chest glowed as the wind blew and shadows formed around the chest.

"Get ready," The woman alerted the two men. "We've almost got him!"

"Do not fear, my dear sister, I promise you it'll be fine." The first man replied as he held the chest.

They were surrounded by dark shrouds before a devilish image appeared with glowing white eyes appeared behind them before roaring.

"NOW! DO IT NOW!" The second man begged.

The first man soon opened the chest which cast a bright light against the devilish form. The devilsh form roared as he was being sucked in into the chest. The first man was knocked out from the bright light with the chest out of his hand.

"Vincent!" The woman cried out for him.

There were swirling clouds in the sky which panicked the trio. The first man soon fell as he yelled out before hitting the ground.

"Vincent, what is it?" The second man asked.

"Mortifer... Vaskila... Did... Did we...?" The first man muttered out.

"Yes, we've caught him!" The second man smiled, helping him up.

"That's all thirteen," Vaskila soon smiled. "It's finally done."

Vincent soon picked up the chest until they heard something in the woods and there were glowing eyes behind the trees.

"Done? Hardly," Vincent replied. "Evil's minions will stop at nothing to open this chest and release once more the plague of their thirteen masters upon our realm. We have a duty, Mortifer and Vaskila."

"Of course," Mortifer sighed. "We need to split up if we're ever going to have a chance. Give me the chest."

"No, it's too dangerous," Vaskila told him. "We won't let you."

"Then run," Mortifer replied. "I'll distract it."

Vaskila felt nervous.

"It's all right, my dear sister." Vincent comforted her.

"I hope that he will be alright." Vaskila pouted.

Mortifer soon used some magic dust to make an illusion and soon ran off when he could. The eyes began to follow him as he ran off.

"Go! There's no time!" Mortifer told the siblings.

Vincent and Vaskila didn't want to, but they had no choice and soon ran off with the chest, but stopped when they heard Mortifer cry out in distress.

"Oh, no! Mortifer!" Vaskila cried out.

The shrouds soon grabbed Mortifer as he tried to fight them off, but had little to no avail. They soon levitated him in the air before dropping him into the bushes before attacking him from there. There was a bright light shown before the bush was vaporized and both Mortifer and the shrouds were gone.

"Mortifer!" Vincent gasped before he had tears in his eyes and left with his sister.

"What do we do now?" Vaskila frowned.

"We have to keep going." Vincent told her.

Vaskila frowned and soon walked off with her brother to start a new journey.

Many years had passed as the siblings kept the demon chest secure as best as they could, but some time had changed, especially into recent years.

'Once upon a Demon Chest, where evil spirits manifest,

The best of friends began a quest, and set out like a thing possessed,

In every corner of the land, With a kid named Flim-Flam, and a van,

And steely hearts at their command, and they faced their fears, and made their stand,

They thwarted Evil Maldor's best, And broke the Shadow Demon's curse,

And off to Vericrash, to rendezvous with something worse,

From witches quoting haunted rhyme, To speeding up the sands of time,

Into Demongo's comic crime, They fought and caught the demons nine,

Phantazmo, Rankor, Zimbulu, Do these sound like good guys to you?

Well, thanks to our intrepid crew, Into the chest, they each withdrew,

But now their hunt is nearly through, their final hunt pursue, to capture one last bugaboo,

The 13th Ghost of Scooby-Doo'

Many years later, we are shown a closed mall with an older man screaming and running away from Mystery Inc.

"There he is!" Brianna pointed out.

The gang soon chased after the man who was running from them, being even more of a coward than Shaggy or Scooby on a good day. Shaggy struggled in running and then had Scooby run further for him. The man looked back from them and soon ran up an escalator. The gang was catching up to him, but it was too late as they stopped and bumped into each other.

"What are you doing, Fred? He's getting away!" Trent reminded.

"Trent, you should never run on a moving escalator," Fred advised with caution. "Safety first."

Brianna made a square shape with her fingers like in the 1970's.

"Can't we at least walk?" Daphne asked Fred.

"Uh... Better not chance it." Fred said.

They were soon going up an escalator together which seemed to run slowly. Daphne and Brianna looked at each other, rolling their eyes and they got off once they made it to the next floor.

"Now what?" Velma asked.

"Relax, everyone. The real trick of leadership is to see the whole situation from above," Fred advised. "Like the very top. Like, say, uh... A human pyramid. That's how you get the best of your team and plan your next move."

"A human pyramid?" Trent replied. "What are you, a cheerleading captain?"

"Not important." Fred said.

Scooby soon sniffed something and began to follow the scent before pointing to the Toy Store. "Thattaway!"

"You see?" Fred smiled as he pet the Great Dane. "Great, work, Scooby! Come on, gang!"

"I wonder about you sometimes, Fred Jones." Brianna commented to herself.

They soon went to go into the Toy Store, but of course, there was a pretzel stand which meant one thing.

"Like, we're right behind ya!" Shaggy beamed.

"Reah!" Scooby added as they came to the pretzel stand.

Meanwhile, the rest of the gang went inside of the toy store, and saw a couple of toys being knocked down which means their target was in the Toy Store.

"We got him!" Fred cried out. "Follow me!"

"Shouldn't we booby trap the door in case he tries to escape?" Brianna suggested.

"That is a pretty good idea." Daphne agreed.

"Guys, I think I know when and when not to booby trap a doorway," Fred chuckled. "Let's go."

"That boy never listens." Brianna sighed to herself.

Daphne looked over to a case filled with bouncy balls and suddenly had an idea. "Bri, I need your help on this." She then told the other girl.

"You got it!" Brianna replied.

The others traveled down an aisle before seeing a giant teddy bear among many other bears. The man was soon shown hiding behind the teddy bear before yelling out in horror.

"Jinkies!" Velma yelped.

The man kept running from them and soon slipped and fell because of the bouncy balls left on the floor.

"Yes! It worked!" Brianna beamed.

"Ruh-roh!" Scooby yelped.

"Zoinks!" Shaggy added.

The man soon crashed into them as they took some soft pretzels. The man was seen to be handcuffed from the pretzel on his wrists.

"Now let's see who old Farmer Morgan really is!" Velma smiled, trying to take off the man's face, thinking it was a mask like usual, but this time, it wasn't a mask, and it was a real face.

"Let me try." Daphne said, but she then had the same result.

"Stop that! This is my face!" Farmer Morgan cried out to them.

"Looks like this ghost went a little heavy on the spirit gum!" Shaggy commented before laughing with Scooby.

"I don't understand," Fred said as he tried to take his turn. "If it's not a mask, then that means he's-"

"The real Farmer Morgan." The Sheriff said as he helped the man up.

This seemed to surprise the others.

"That doesn't make sense," Daphne said to them. "Farmer Morgan is selling the Mall half his farmland for this big expansion!"

"If it goes out of business, he'll lose millions!" Velma added.

"So, like, why does he wanna shut this place down?" Shaggy wondered.

"He doesn't," The sheriff replied. "Morgan didn't stage the mall haunting," he then looked over to the woman in handcuffs. "Mrs. Malvo: the mall owner, did."

"And I would've gotten away with it too, if you had let the meddling to these kids!" Mrs. Malvo complained.

"But... Then why was Farmer Morgan running?" Brianna asked.

"I'm afraid of teenagers!" Farmer Morgan told them which made them gasp slightly.

"Hold the phone... You mean... We were wrong?" Fred replied.

"The term is 'criminally negligent'." The sheriff clarified.

"Criminal?" The gang repeated in shock.

"But we're the good guys!" Brianna pouted.

"How many times do I have to tell you kids?" The sheriff sighed. "Mystery solving is a tough business. Leave it for the pros. There's no room for mistakes. You're almost 18. After that, if someone like Morgan here presses harassment charges, you're looking at prison time."

"Like, gulp!" Shaggy yelped.

"This business is too dangerous for any slip-ups, case in point." The sheriff told them as Mrs. Malvo began to run away.

"She's getting away!" Trent alerted.

The Sheriff shot a tranqulizer dart on her leg so she wouldn't escape anymore. "It's over, kids," he then told them. "There's only one mystery crime-solver in this town, and he wears a badge, also this cool hat. Let this be absolutely clear; if I ever see you drive that Mystery Machine one more mile, I'm putting you away," he then looked to Brianna and Trent. "That goes for your other team as well."

"How do you know about us?" Brianna asked.

"I'm good friends with Drew and Kendra Nelson, so I know all about you." The Sheriff replied.

"Of course you are." Brianna sighed.

"Also, we have a leash law in this town, so, yeah, thanks." The sheriff said as he passed by Scooby.

Scooby looked offended from that. Farmer Morgan and the Sheriff soon walked off from each other, leaving Mystery Inc with a lot on their minds.

The next day at Cartoon Network City, the Mystery Inc group had a yard sale, selling everything that they earned from solving mysteries. Even Fred had to sell the Mystery Machine.

"That is the saddest sight I've ever seen." June commented once she saw the Mystery Machine just gone like that.

"I don't understand why we have to unload everything." Daphne said.

"I can't believe I just sold the Mystery Machine!" Fred sulked.

"Fred, no one said it would be easy to retire." Velma said, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"This has to be a dream, right?" Cindy commented.

"Come on, guys, let's go talk to Bri." Mike suggested.

"Excuse me, guys." Brianna said, passing by Shaggy and Scooby who were in lawn chairs, trying to relax since they didn't have to solve mysteries anymore.

"Hey, Bri." Mike said.

"Hey, guys." Brianna sighed as she looked upset.

"Are you doing all right?" Double D asked.

"Not really," Brianna frowned. "I can't believe that we have to retire so early. We've been solving mysteries ever since we were little kids, but now... It's all over."

"We're really sorry." Double D said.

"It's okay," Brianna frowned. "It's just hard to think that it's all over now."

"You've been doing it for 50 years!" Ed said.

"It's been a long time, Ed, but not that long." Brianna rolled her eyes.

"You can't retire now!" Eddy said as he checked out the knight's helmet.

"We have no choice," Brianna replied. "If the Sheriff sees us doing this again, we'll be going to jail."

"That sucks." Eddy said.

"It's okay," Brianna sighed a little. "It was bound to happen sooner or later anyway. Maybe I could try out for cheerleading or gymnastics."

"But you guys can't quit now," Dee Dee pouted. "You guys are the best teenage detectives we know."

"Sorry, guys, but we have no choice." Brianna reminded her.

"There must be something we can do." June said.

"Well, if you figure it out, let me know..." Brianna sighed. "I even made a scrapbook too."

"Uh, guys, a little help?" Eddy muffled as he got the knight helmet stuck on his head and he was now trying to get it off.

"Why did you put it on in the first place?" Jo rolled her eyes to that.

"It looked cool on me." Eddy replied.

"No, it looks dumb." Jo deadpanned, taking the helmet off of him.

"Haven't you heard of girls liking a knight in shining armor?" Eddy smirked.

"Yes, but they want a knight who isn't short." Jo retorted.

"Hey!" Eddy pouted to that.

"Ah... This is the life, Scoob," Shaggy smiled to his best friend. "No more mysteries, no more ghosts, and no more year round fancy attire!"

"Hey, I like your style." A man in a floral shirt smiled as he walked by.

"Thank you!" Scooby smiled as he took a drink before letting out a small burp and looked bashful.

The Mystery Machine soon drove off which looked a bit heartbreaking.

"This just doesn't feel right." Trent commented.

"I love my Mystery Machine," Fred sulked as he soon walked away, feeling upset. "I feel like I just sold a part of myself."

"Aw, Fred." Trent frowned.

"I know how ya feel, guys, but it's not like we have a choice," Velma commented. "Besides, it's already done. We already closed all of our cases and have no unfinished business. None whatsoever."

"Eureka!" The man called out as he took something out of a box. "How much for the crystal ball?"

"What mortals have a crystal ball?" Cindy commented.

Shaggy, Scooby, and Daphne soon gasped.

"We have a crystal ball?" Velma asked out of confusion.

"Oh, no, I thought we got rid of that." Brianna whispered to herself.

"Um, I don't think-" Daphne spoke up.

Shaggy and Scooby soon rushed over to take care of the crystal ball.

"Like, put that thing away!" Shaggy yelped.

Scooby ran around the man and the crystal ball soon went flying before landing in Shaggy's hands.

"Oh, man... I know that glow..." Shaggy frowned as the crystal ball glowed green.

"Shaggy? Shaggy! Is that you?!" A man's voice called out.

"Did that thing just...?" Eddy began to ask, uneasily.

Shaggy threw it on the ground and a man's face appeared on the crystal ball.

"Kids, I've been trying to reach you on this thing for months!" The man on the crystal ball called out to them. "Daphne? Brianna? Shaggy? Scooby-Doo, where are you?"

"Ah! Ah! He said it!" Peter Griffin smiled out of excitement as he made a random cameo.

"We're here," Daphne said, picking up the crystal ball. "What's up, Vincent?"

"Vincent?" Velma questioned.

"I think he prefers Mr. van Ghoul." Shaggy replied.

"No, no, Vincent is fine," The man replied. "Listen, I've found him... Or rather, he's found me."

"Oh, no." Shaggy muttered.

"What do you mean?" Brianna asked the wizard.

"The 13th and final ghost," Vincent clarified. "You must come at once to catch him so we can seal The Chest of Demons forever! Hurry, I can't hold him off much-" he then struggled a bit before the crystal ball soon turned off.

"Vincent? Vincent!" Daphne cried out.

Shaggy and Scooby soon gulped.

"Like, I guess we've got some unfinished business after all." Shaggy said before crying with Scooby.

"Who is Vincent van Ghoul?" Fred asked.

"What's a Chest of Demons?" Velma added.

"And will you take a personal check?" The man asked.

"NO!" The others told him.

"All right, it's just a question." The man said before walking off.

"Girls, are you gonna tell us what's going on?" Trent asked Daphne and Brianna.

"Yeah, I wanna know!" Jo complained. "I hate being left out in the dark!"

"Uh, Bri, is there something you aren't telling us?" Mike asked the brown-haired girl.

"We promised that we would never talk about this." Shaggy whispered to the girls.

"We have no choice," Brianna told him. "Vincent is in trouble, and it's all our fault."

"Our fault?" Fred and Velma echoed.

"Listen... Something happened," Daphne told them. "That summer Fred and Velma were away at camp..." she then began to explain everything while Brianna helped out a bit.

They soon met in Daphne's bedroom after hearing the stories.

"Real ghosts?" Velma asked.

"Velma, what about those other times?" Cindy replied. "Zombie Island... The Witch's Ghost... The Alien Invaders... A whole lot more, plus a lot of people in The Cartoon League who have unique abilities. Surely you haven't forgotten those times."

"Ugh, how did I think this was practical?" Daphne complained, tossing a dress aside to Fred's face. "Bri, do you still have that outfit that I got you for Christmas?"

"You bet," Brianna smiled. "I'll put it on."

"This is insane," Fred said to the girls. "I can't believe that you never told us about this."

"And we're all friends here," Eddy added. "Bri, how could you do this?"

"The whole thing really traumatized Scooby," Brianna replied. "He almost had a nervous breakdown so we decided to never bring it up again."

"But you said there were only 13 ghosts and you only caught 12," Fred replied. "Didn't you think with one on the loose, it might come up again someday?"

"Listen, if you're worried about Scooby, don't be," Daphne smiled. "He's conquered his demons... 12 of them at least."

"Oh, this one has to be it." Brianna pointed out to one outfit.

"Yes," Daphne smiled and soon took it before putting it on, looking very different from how she looked now, she then saw a golden crest pin which was of a Witch's Star and she put her hand on it before looking to Brianna. "What do you think she's up to?"

"Hard to say... She was such a sweet girl..." Brianna smiled. "So cute and full of life..."

"Yes, she was..." Daphne smiled back.

Brianna put on a different oufit which was a blue shirt, black pants, boots, and her hair was styled in high pigtails.

"I knew I made the right choice." Daphne smiled.

Daphne soon took off her headband and began to change her hair. First was a short and curly hairstyle before she tried something else which looked a lot better for her. "Whatya think?" she then asked as she posed for the others.

"You look like something out of 1985." Cindy commented.

"Whoa! Who are you?" Fred asked Daphne out of shock.

Brianna put on black gloves and a black jacket to complete her style. "There we go," she then smiled. "Now, how do I look?"

"Like someone trapped in the 90's." Eddy replied.

"Meh." Brianna replied.

They then moved onto the garage and Shaggy and Scooby were shown, wearing a lot of protective gear.

"Oh, come on! Even I think that's a little excessive!" Cindy complained.

"What are you two wearing?" June asked them.

"Not nearly enough!" Shaggy replied.

"Uh-uh." Scooby added in agreement.

"Man, and I thought that Butler was bad with those good luck charms she wore on Friday the 13th." Jo commented.

"Wait, is that a compliment?" Cindy asked.

"Sure," Jo shrugged. "Whatever floats your boat."

"Relax, boys, we've already handled 12 of these, would one more kill us?" Brianna asked Shaggy and Scooby.

"Like, dude, that's the question, isn't it?" Shaggy replied.

"Well, we'd love to help you, Daph, but I just sold the Mystery Machine, so-" Fred frowned at first.

"Don't worry; I've got it covered." Daphne smiled, uncovering a different van which was big and red.

"Whoa!" Cindy gasped.

"It's way cooler than my brother's car!" Eddy added.

"You have a van too?!" Fred asked Daphne and Brianna.

"It's not a van," Daphne replied. "It's a stragetic ultra mobile command unit."

"It looks like a van." Mike deadpanned.

"It was a van," Brianna replied. "Then Vincent had a few upgrades installed."

"MM?" Fred asked once he saw the initials.

"Don't worry, Freddy," Daphne smiled. "There can only be one Mystery Machine."

"What does it stand for then?" Fred replied.

"Mike's name?" Eddy joked.

Mike rolled her eyes to that.

"Let me guess; the 'Miss-Tery' Machine?" Velma smirked.

"Uh, no, but that's way better," Daphne replied. "Let's call it that."

"Agreed." Brianna nodded.

"Okay, whatever," Fred said as he got into the driver's seat. "Everybody hop in, and-Uh-oh, wait. Wait, wait! This is a stick! I can't drive a stick!"

"Everybody in, don't worry, there's plenty of room," Daphne said as she pushed Fred over as she took the wheel. "We're burning daylight!"

Everyone then got into the van and got ready for a new road trip in a brand new van. And with that, Daphne drove off.

"I'm kinda squished." Double D grunted.

"Me too! Eddy, can you move a little bit?" Cindy added.

"I can't! Ed is hogging my space!" Eddy told her.

"Just try to adjust, guys, it'll be fine, I promise." Brianna told them.

"That's easy for you to say." Eddy grumbled.

"Perhaps we should move to some different seats." Double D suggested.

"Good idea." Cindy replied.

Brianna and Daphne just sighed as Daphne continued to drive.


	2. Chapter 2

The drive was a bit long and it was soon night time.

"Grand Tomb? Please!" Velma scoffed as she read a look. "It's barely 800 pages, and most of it's the index!"

"Velma." Daphne said.

"What do you want me to say?" Velma replied. "It's full of nonsense! Like the Chest of Demons can only be opened by the living!"

"That's true." Scooby smiled.

"Of course it's true!" Velma rolled her eyes. "Because the dead don't open things, they don't do anything! THEY'RE DEAD!"

Fred shifted a bit, but he was sleeping on Daphne's shoulder.

"But Velma, we've dealt with real monsters and you saw what we all can do, so you can't be going around and saying there's no such thing." June replied.

"She's right." Daphne added in agreement.

"Anything on the 13th ghost?" Brianna asked Velma about the book.

"Well, according to what you told me, the one who got away is Asmodeus: The King of Demons," Velma replied. "The most powerful of all evil spirits."

Shaggy and Scooby yelped, shivering and hugging each other.

"Oh, man! Like, we should've gotten rid of that crystal ball when we had the chance!" Shaggy whimpered.

"Oh, it's just an old story." Velma scoffed.

"What the...?" Daphne muttered as she looked through the rear-view window to see someone following them.

"There's no such thing as ghosts!" Velma cried out.

"What happened to her?" Cindy sighed.

"I don't know, Cin." Mike replied.

"Do you think we were born cowards?" Shaggy remarked to Velma. "Sister, the reason we're always on edge about ghouls and goblins, even fake ones, is that we've seen and fought 12 of the real thing!"

Scooby nodded in agreement.

"Not to mention all that crazy stuff that happens in Cartoon Network City, especially with Billy and Mandy around." June added.

"And I have an inter-dimensional evil uncle in my mind," Jo added before turning sarcastic. "Oh, yeah, but I just remembered. There's no such thing as ghosts."

Velma pouted to that as Fred laid on her shoulder this time.

Dee Dee soon looked out the window as a car was following behind them. "Jo, I didn't know that you brought your car with you?" she then said.

"I didn't." Jo replied.

"Then what's that?" Dee Dee asked, pointing behind them.

Jo took a look. "Not sure... Dig the paint job though." she then said.

"Hang on, gang!" Daphne told the others before accelerating.

Fred suddenly woke up from the speeding van. "What's going on?!" he then asked in a panic.

"We're in for a ride, that's what!" Mike replied.

Fred began to panic and worry as the van drove fast as they tried to avoid the car behind them.

"I think it's gone." Brianna told Daphne.

"Whoa! What's happening?!" Fred asked.

"We thought someone was tailing us, but I guess--" Brianna began to explain.

Headlights appeared behind them.

"I think whoever was there is back." Cindy commented.

The car soon zoomed up behind them and rammed up behind them.

"Yikes!" Fred yelped.

Daphne then went back to driving to get away from the other car which was chasing them.

"Whoa. Check out the green flames." Eddy commented.

"Maybe it's from the Ghost Zone?" June shrugged because of the green flames.

"I... I hope he's got insurance!" Velma yelped.

Shaggy and Scooby soon freaked out.

"Insurance follows the driver, right?" Shaggy asked.

"Yes!" Velma replied.

"Well, then we've got a problem!" Shaggy said as there was no driver.

"What are we gonna do now?!" Eddy cried out.

"Don't panic!" Jo told them all.

"Too late for that because now a truck is heading right for us!" Eddy called out.

Both Daphne and the other car swerved out of the way, passing the truck luckily enough. They were close to an edge, but luckily made it out and continued to drive off.

"Shaggy, Scooby, pull it together and deploy counter measures!" Brianna told the cowardly duo.

Shaggy and Scooby nodded before they soon did as told.

"Counter measures?" Mike blinked out of confusion.

They turned around to find Shaggy and Scooby by a giant computer with buttons.

"Here goes nuthin'!" Shaggy said before pressing a button and oil soon came out of the van's exhaust pipe.

"It shoots oil slicks?!" Fred asked.

"What is this, a missing car from the Wacky Races line-up?" Cindy muttered.

The car soon drove through the oil puddle and drove on the rock wall beside the road before going back on the road, continuing to chase after them.

"Take that!" Scooby smiled as he pushed a button which emit some sort of gas from a tire.

The gas seemed to slow down the car behind them.

"That should keep him busy." Shaggy smiled.

"It has a smoke screen?!" Fred yelped.

Daphne turned around to find the car gone. She sighed in relief, but gasped as the car was now right in front of them.

"This guy is just impossible." Jo grunted.

The van soon stopped in front of the car before they backed up.

"We must be in a Stephen King novel." Cindy commented.

The car soon continued to chase after them even as they rode backwards.

"Somebody really doesn't want us on the road!" Velma yelped.

Brianna looked at Daphne. Both of them smirked.

"Well, why didn't they just say so?" Brianna remarked.

"Whatcha girls thinking?" Cindy asked.

"Don't worry, Cindy, it'll be okay." Brianna promised.

Fred got nervous. "That's a really sharp turn back there, Daphne, maybe you should slow down? You know safety fir--"

Nearly everyone yelped as the van was soon right off of the road.

"ARE YOU NUTS?!" Jo scolded Brianna and Daphne. "ARE YOU JUST ABOUT AS DUMB AS ED AND DEE DEE?!"

"Be patient!" Brianna told her. "We have a plan!"

"You had better." Jo narrowed her eyes as this annoyed her as mostly everyone else was screaming and freaking out.

They soon splashed into the water. The car seemed to watch that and drove off, thinking they were gone for good. 

However, a giant rubber duck raft came out as the van reached the surface of the water and they were all okay.

"Hm... Not bad," Cindy smiled. "That was kinda cool."

"See, Jo? Brianna smiled to the jockette. "I told you that we had a plan."

"Hmm... All right." Jo shrugged. 

"That was... Awesome!" Daphne beamed as she pushed a button so that they could travel through the water. "This'll be faster anyway."

They soon rode up on dry land over to a very creepy and grim looking mansion which looked like something straight out of a horror movie.

"Vincent lives here?" Double D asked.

"Only during the winter holidays," Daphne said. "He's a snow bird."

"Looks like Sabrina Spellman's house." Cindy commented.

They soon walked up to the mansion with their flashlights and the gargoyles seemed to be watching them.

"More like a snow bat." Shaggy commented.

Fred soon rang the doorbell which sounded like a woman's shriek and it scared off some bats.

"That's odd, the door is open." Mike commented.

"Come on, gang, let's--" Fred and Daphne said together until they looked to each other.

"Let's follow Daphne inside." Fred then rolled his eyes.

"No way." Scooby soon said.

"Like, I'm with you, Scooby Doo," Shaggy agreed. "Like, no way we're stepping through those doors!"

"Ah...?" Daphne smiled as she took out a box of Scooby Snax from her bag.

"Me? Uh, okay..." Fred said as he took the box, coming in front of Shaggy and Scooby. "Say, guys! Would you do it for a couple of--"

"Ahem! One," Shaggy whispered to him. "You start with one, and then we haggle."

"Where did you two learn to haggle?" Fred asked.

"Flim-Flam of course." Brianna smiled.

"Flim-Flam?" June raised an eyebrow.

"That little huckster that travels around catching ghosts with us, about 3'6." Daphne explained with a small smile.

"Sold us all of that snake oil that we loaded from the garage," Brianna added. "We never mentioned Flim-Flam?"

"Vincent van Ghoul? The Chest of Demons?" Fred reminded. "The Miss-Tery Machine? And now a whole other member of the gang? There's a lot you've never mentioned!"

"Excuse me, I believe we were haggling?" Shaggy said, tapping Fred's shoulder impatiently.

"I-I'm gonna say one Scooby Snack, you're gonna say three, then we settle on two, okay?" Fred groaned. "Let's just cut to the chase."

Fred handed Shaggy and Scooby two Scooby Snacks, then the cowardly duo ate the Scooby Snacks given to them.

"Like, the easiest negotiation ever." Shaggy commented.

"Thanks, Daphne." Scooby smiled.

"Uh, I'm Fred, not Daphne." Fred deadpanned.

"Uh-huh..." Scooby replied.

The others looked to each other before they came to the mansion. There was definitely an eerie atmosphere in the air as they began to travel inside the mansion.

"Ugh! This place gives me the creeps." Velma commented.

"I thought you didn't believe in creeps?" Cindy smirked.

"Holy, cow! When did Cindy become so savage?" Mike laughed to that.

"I'm starting to believe a little." Velma smirked back to Cindy.

Eddy and Cindy soon snickered.

"This place looks deserted." Trent commented.

"If Vincent took off, maybe he left a clue to where he's headed to." Brianna suggested.

"Let's split up!" Shaggy replied. "Scoob and I will check the kitchen, the pantry, the kitchens, and the snackatorium!"

"The snackatorium?" Fred deadpanned.

"Like, I'm sure that's a thing," Shaggy smiled. "Where's your sense of discovery?"

Scooby soon sniffed something before he began to follow the scent.

"You better keep an eye on Louis & Bark over there." Daphne suggested.

"Got it." Velma said, following after Shaggy and Scooby.

"Eds, Jo, and Cindy, you better follow them too." Daphne then suggested.

"Sure thing, Daphne." Cindy replied.

The crystal ball soon glowed again.

"What was that?" Fred asked.

"That's strange... I wonder..." Daphne paused as she took out the crystal ball and came over to the door, but it then stopped glowing. She then came back inside which made it glow again.

"What do you think it means?" Fred asked.

"They work like phones," Daphne explained. "Vincent called us on this crystal ball, which means he was calling from another crystal ball. So maybe... It's a homing beacon. The crystal balls are connected somehow, so..."

"All we have to do is follow the glow, and we'll find Vincent!" Fred smiled.

"Fingers crossed!" Daphne smiled back.

They soon went to come downstairs, but bumped into each other before they kept going to find Vincent. Mike, June, Dee Dee, Trent and Brianna followed them downstairs as well, unknown to them, the portrait's eyes moved, looking at them.


	3. Chapter 3

They stopped to one portrait which caught their attention briefly. She had frizzy brown hair and crystal-like blue eyes, and appeared to be wearing a black and green dress.

"She's beautiful." Dee Dee smiled.

"I think this is her name," Mike said as she found a plate below the portrait frame. "Vaskila van Ghoul?"

"That's Vincent's sister." Brianna said.

"Vincent has a sister?" June asked.

"Well, Vinny had to come from somewhere." Brianna replied.

"Vinny?" Mike then asked curiously.

"Who the heck is Vinny?!" June soon glared.

"Vincent's niece of course," Brianna explained. "She traveled with us to help capture the 12 ghosts."

"Oh." June said.

"Jeez, calm down," Brianna said. "I know it's a lot to take in, but we'll all get through it."

"Sounds like you guys had quite the adventures." Mike remarked.

"We sure did, and I'd love to tell you about them." Brianna smiled.

Meanwhile with Shaggy, Scooby, Velma, The Eds, Jo, and Cindy, they were in the kitchen. Shaggy, Scooby, and Ed were making a sandwich for them.

"This sure beats searching through the dungeon, right, Scoob, old buddy?" Shaggy smiled.

"Indeed." Scooby smiled as he took out a whole turkey from the fridge.

Velma stared at the shutters which opened and closed until she found something. "Huh. Yep! As I suspected," she then said as she found a pulley string. "This pulley system must run throughout the entire castle."

"All right, Miss Skeptic; that doesn't explain the howling wind." Eddy remarked.

"For once, Eddy has a good point." Cindy agreed.

"Oh, hey, see if you can find some soup in there, would ya, Scoob?" Shaggy asked, about to cut the sandwich.

"Rokay!" Scooby smiled and came to open the pantry door, but saw glowing white eyes which made him shiver and slam the door shut. 

"What was it, low sodium?" Shaggy asked.

Scooby shivered and stammered nervously.

"What is he scared about?" Jo asked.

Scooby whimpered and pointed to the door. 

"Scooby, you don't have entamaphobia, do you?" Cindy asked.

"Ent... A.... What?" Eddy asked.

"The fear of doors," Cindy replied. "Some kids get that way after reading or watching Alice in Wonderland for the first time."

"Well, we can always add salt to the soup, no harm done." Jo shrugged to Scooby who looked scared to death.

"Like, that's a good idea, Jo." Shaggy agreed.

Scooby was still scared on the other hand.

"Oh, bring it here." Shaggy smiled calmly.

The door opened again and a clawed hand handed a can of soup to Scooby. Scooby took the can before shivering and jumped up in fright before landing in Shaggy's arms.

"Like, hey!" Shaggy glared as Scooby moved all around.

"Would you two knock it off? We're supposed to be looking for clues!" Velma complained as she opened the pantry door and soon went inside. 

"Relma, no!" Scooby cried out.

"She was so young!" Eddy added.

Ed pulled the jockette into a hug before crying.

"Hey!" Jo complained.

"I'm sure she's fine, though this place is really different..." Cindy commented.

"Velma is gone!" Ed sobbed. "She was a good person!"

Velma soon let out a shriek which was quite chilling. Shaggy and Scooby took turns being held, but soon, Velma came back out, completely unharmed.

"I found the howling wind! It's just a recording played on a network and speakers!" The smart girl smiled as she came out with a speaker. "I knew something was up as soon as we arrived!" She then looked around to see Shaggy and Scooby were gone until the others saw them hiding behind the table.

"Will you two quit fooling around?!" Jo complained. "Say, where are the Three Stooges?" she then asked until she heard a rattling in the cabinet and she opened the door and found the Eds hiding in there.

"Of course," Jo deadpanned to that. "Butler, you're not scared?" she then asked.

"Maybe a little bit, but I'm trying to work on complaining and being scared all the time," Cindy said. "We're all friends and I should trust you all to help me when I need it while also becoming independent. Not to mention if Maxwell comes around on some adventures."

"Good," Jo replied. "Then that means I don't have to eat you."

"That's right, you don't have to--" Cindy agreed until her eyes widened to what was just said. "Wait, eat me?!"

"Chill, Butler, it was just a joke." Jo replied.

"Hm..." Cindy gave a small glance.

Shaggy and Scooby were now shivering in the middle of the floor.

"Stop fooling around, you guys!" Velma told Shaggy, Scooby, and the Eds.

"Who says we're fooling around?!" Eddy shivered.

"We gotta find out where this speaker leads to." Velma told them.

They soon walked off to go do just that. Scooby stared into the pantry for a few moments and soon walked off to join the others. As soon as they left, a demon hand came out and slammed the door shut.

"Jo, admit that you're scared," Eddy said to the jockette. "I mean, the 13th ghost is the King of Demons."

"Are you forgetting about my family tree like when you and Duncan did something stupid by going into my room when I've told you countless times not to?" Jo rolled her eyes.

"Oh, come on, Jo, that was a long time ago." Eddy replied.

"I told you a million times, and you just ignored me," Jo glared. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Raven must've felt the same way with Beast Boy and Cyborg."

"You know, Jo, Eddy might have a point," Cindy soon said. "You may have Trigon in your mind, but it may not be enough. I've heard from Grandma before that she and Drell couldn't defeat him before because of how powerful he was."

"Are you saying I'm weak?!" Jo glared.

"No, but you might want to be careful," Cindy said. "I mean, if Drell couldn't defeat someone, who can?"

"Me!" Jo glared.

"You don't have to be arrogant." Cindy said.

"NOW you're calling me arrogant?!" Jo glared.

"JO!" Cindy scolded. "If you wanna beat me up or scare me to death because of what I'm saying, you can go ahead, but you have to think before you act, alright?! I've been spending a lot more time with my grandmother who is considered one of the world's best witches, so if you have a problem with me, I will just leave now on my own. We're supposed to be friends."

The Eds looked concerned, wondering what Jo would do now. 

"Fine... You win." Jo soon said.

"Thank you," Cindy said. "I know you're mad at me talking to you like that, but you sometimes need to calm down. We don't know what this guy could be capable of."

"All right... Let's get going then." Jo said as she walked off.

"Cindy, that was the bravest thing you've ever done, but now Jo is gonna kill you." Eddy said to the young girl.

"I've been helping out my grandmother more lately on my off time, so she's been giving me some tips on growing up with some of the same people she did when she was a kid," Cindy said. "Grandma had a bit of a rough childhood."

"Oh, yes, I do remember you telling us about that before." Double D replied.

"Come on then, let's get going." Cindy told them.

They soon followed after Shaggy, Scooby, and Velma. As they were going, someone was flying by on a broomstick to the mansion.

Fred and Daphne came through the doors, as Daphne held the glowing crystal ball as they came into the library. 

"I don't get it; we were led here, but I don't see Vincent or his crystal ball, it's a dead end." Daphne said as she walked into the room, feeling confused.

"So I guess we gotta head back now?" Mike guessed.

"There's always a way out, guys!" Fred frowned. "We just have to look for it. Daphne, hand me your flashlight."

"I left it in the van." Daphne sighed.

"Aha! There you go, you said it," Fred smirked. "It is a van!"

"Of course it's a van!" Daphne told him. "I just didn't want you to feel like I was moving in on your turf."

Fred then smiled to that.

"Which she is." Brianna then said.

Fred then frowned to that.

"Look, I've been through all of this already when you were away," Daphne said as she walked off with the crystal ball. "I know how to see the whole situation from above, and how to plan the next move. I'm fine."

"Well, I'm not," Fred said as he walked to her as he took a candelabra. "There must be something I can do."

One of the bookcases soon opened to show a secret door.

"Don't. Do. Anything." Daphne told him.

"But Daphne, I only wanted to--" Fred frowned as he put the candelabra down.

"No, I mean, don't move," Daphne warned. "I think I see something."

"Me too." Brianna agreed until she opened the bookcase a little to reveal a secret passageway.

"A secret passageway." Trent remarked.

"We're back in business," Daphne told the others. "Come on."

They soon came in, following after Daphne and Brianna down the secret passageway.

Meanwhile, the others were in a corridor, surrounded by knights in armor.

"Once Scooby has the scent, he'll lead us to the source of the--" Velma said as she held out a speaker to the Great Dane.

"Like, you don't need to explain it to me, Velma, I understand." Shaggy cut her off as he held a leash on Scooby.

"All right, Scooby, got the scent?" Double D smiled.

"Ruh-huh." Scooby nodded as he began to sniff around.

"Like, just let me know when--" Shaggy began to tell Scooby until he yelped as the dog was suddenly running, dragging Shaggy away with him as the others soon chased after them.

"Keep it up, Scooby!" Velma called out.

"Let me down, Scooby!" Shaggy cried out.

Scooby soon suddenly stopped in front of a window which made Shaggy fly and crash against a suit of armor. 

"That had to hurt." Eddy commented.

Scooby soon began to bark out to the window.

"What is it?" Shaggy asked.

They soon saw a pair of mice outside eating some strawberries.

"Just a false alarm." Velma sighed.

"What a big hairy mouse, Pixie." Dixie said.

"It sounds very dumb, Dixie." Pixie replied.

Pixie barked like Scooby did which made Dixie laugh. "Better not humor him," he then suggested. "Foolish creature, Dixie."

"Indeed, Pixie." Dixie agreed.

The two mice turned around and ate their strawberries in peace.

"Scooby, it's only a couple of--" Velma complained as she leaned against the wall, only for one brick to be pushed in further and that opened a trapdoor.

Soon, everyone let out a yelp in surprise as they began to fall right through the floor. They all then landed in three different tubes which turned into three slides and they were flying through the air.

Meanwhile, Fred, Daphne, and the others continued to explore on their own.

"Well, I'm stumped," Daphne said. "This one really is a dead-end."

"Maybe we should just head back upstairs." June suggested.

"No. The ball led us here, this is where we're supposed to be," Brianna replied. "It's probably obvious, I bet it's gonna hit us over on the head."

"Hi, Ed!" Dee Dee smiled as she looked up.

"Ed?" The others asked out of confusion.

"Look out below!" Eddy called out.

"Eddy?" Mike glanced over.

The other group came down, landing on top of the others.

"Like, mind if we drop in?" Shaggy smiled bashfully.

"We looked everywhere, and there's been no sign of Vincent or any clue to where he's gone." Daphne sighed.

Scooby soon picked up another scent and began to follow it. 

"What is it, Scooby?" Daphne asked.

"Rincent! Rincent!" Scooby told them as he stood in front of a coffin.

"Help me get the lid off." Daphne told the others before they tried to remove the lid.

The others removed the coffin lid, and gasped as they saw Vincent, tied up and gagged.

"Vincent!" Brianna cried out.

They soon began to help him out.

"Oh, Daphne! Brianna! Shaggy!" Vincent smiled. "Thank ghoulness it's you!"

"Rello, Rincent." Scooby smiled back.

"And Scooby-Doo, oh, how I have missed you all," Vincent smiled, petting the Great Dane. "Especially these last few weeks. It's Asmodeus."

"Like, we know," Shaggy said. "We read all about him on the way here."

"No, I mean, there, in the shadows!" Vincent pointed out.

The creature opened its wings and flies around then landed right in front of the gang. It was a tall, red humanoid with a pair of wings on its back, long curved horns on his head, a fanged mouth, and a pair of glowing eyes. He wore a Roman-like outfit, with gray robes, tattered dark gray pants, gray armbands, a black cape and an A-shaped belt buckle, and purple flames appeared in his hands.

"All right, my time to shine!" Jo smirked as she jumped over to take care of Amodeus. "Let's do this, buddy, I can take you on!"

"Don't! Stop!" Vincent warned. "Asmodeus is really powerful, and you're a mortal! He could destroy you!"

"What did you call me?" Jo glared. "I am not a mortal, okay?"

"You should be careful." Vincent replied.

"I'M NOT A MORTAL, OKAY?!" Jo repeated.

"Jo, he doesn't know you." Cindy reminded.

"Oh, sorry," Jo then said. "Well, I'm not one, okay?"

Asmodes roared as he was flying into the air and shot fire from his hands.

"All right, you asked for this buddy, you're long overdue for this!" Jo glared as her eyes turned red as she began to channel her own demon powers to show Amodeus what she was really made of.

"Amazing." Vincent commented.

"You haven't seen nothing yet." Cindy smirked.

"Get out of the way." Jo told the others.

The others soon ran off while Jo channeled her Uncle Trigon to face Asmodeus. Asmodeus soon flew towards Jo and threw some fireballs at her, but she was soon shielded before Trigon came out to help once the time was right.

"Oh... My... Ghoul!" Vincent gasped.

"See what I mean?" Cindy was still smirking.

"What seems to be the problem?" Trigon asked Jo.

"You wouldn't happen to know anyone named Asmodeus, would you?" Jo asked her demon uncle.

"Oh, yeah, him," Trigon replied. "We used to be partners in taking over the world until he decided to betray ME!"

Shaggy and Scooby looked shocked of Trigon's appearance, then they fainted in Fred and Daphne's arms.

"Maybe you'd like to get back at him." Jo smirked.

Trigon grinned evilly and nodded.

"He's right there." Jo pointed out for him.

"Well, well, who do we have here?" Trigon sneered towards Asmodeus. "We meet again... Old friend."

"Hello there, Trigon," Asmodeus replied. "I've heard that you changed sides. I can't believe you've gone soft!"

"The only thing soft around here is going to be your head WHEN I'M THROUGH WITH YOU!" Trigon snarled as his eyes glowed bright red.

"BRING IT!" Asmodeus glared as his eyes glowed bright orange.

"GLADLY!" Trigon replied.

The two demons soon charged against each other, both using their abilities to take each other down.

"Now, kids! Open the Chest of Demons!" Vincent told the group behind him.

Shaggy looked in the coffin to see nothing there. "Like, where is it?" he then asked.

"Didn't you bring it with you?" Vincent asked.

"We thought that you had it." Brianna replied.

"No, I left it with you!" Vincent replied.

"I thought I mailed it back to you when school started!" Shaggy told him.

"Where did you send it?" Vincent asked.

"Your real house!" Shaggy replied. "In the Himalayas!"

Trigon soon ducked down as Asmodeus breathed fire. The others yelped, but they weren't burnt and Trigon soon trapped his fellow demon in a shadow ball.

"That wasn't my house!" Vincent told Shaggy. "It was an Air Boo&Boo!"

"GIVE ME THE CHEST!" Asmodeus growled.

"It's not here!" Daphne glared. "If you want it, then go look for it yourself!"

Asmodeus roared and lunged out for them until Vincent warped around his cape for protection. A teenage girl with short brown hair with a purple headband in earrings took out a magic wand and soon shot it at the demon, sending him away somewhere with her magic, and soon put her wand away in her backpack as she soon came into the room.

"Where did he go?" Fred asked.

"To find the Chest," Vincent narrowed his eyes. "As long as he holds it, it can't hold him. We must find it before he does."

"Uh, before ya go, can I have a hug?" The teenage girl spoke up.

"Vinny... Is that you?!" Daphne asked.

"Daphne! Brianna! Shaggy! Scooby!" Vinny smiled. "Is that really you?!"

"Hold on a moment, before you hug her, I go first, she is my niece." Vincent told the others.

Daphne, Brianna, Shaggy, and Scooby looked over. Vincent soon hugged Vinny good and tight.

"Like, Vin, where have ya been?" Shaggy asked.

"I had my birthday, I had to go off to the academy." Vinny smiled as she hugged her uncle. 

"It's been a long time." Brianna commented.

"It has," Vinny smiled with a nod to her. "I've heard that you have a boyfriend now."

"Where'd you hear that?" Brianna wondered. 

"On ToonFace of course." Vinny replied.

"You have a ToonFace account too?" Daphne asked.

"Who doesn't?" Vinny beamed. She then gave Brianna, Daphne, Shaggy, and Scooby a hug since they hadn't seen each other in a long time.

"You've grown up so much." Shaggy commented.

"How is that I aged and you haven't?" Vinny smirked.

"Like, we're almost 18, Vinny." Shaggy said.

"And yet you guys still look the same." Vinny clarified.

"Hmm..." Shaggy replied. 

"Oh, Vinny, you look just like your mother." Vincent said to his niece.

"Uncle Vincent, I've missed you," Vinny said. "The Academy's great and all, but... I just missed being home with you."

"Oh, I'm sure, and I've missed you so much myself." Vincent smiled.

"I came as soon as you called." Vinny said, showing her own crystal ball, but unlike Vincent's and the other, hers was purple which was her favorite color.

"Thank you, my dear," Vincent said to his niece. "I can always count on you."

"Now... Tell me more..." Vinny said. "What's going on?"

Jo soon came back after letting Trigon back into her mind since the demon was gone.

"It was all my fault..." Vincent sighed as he began to reminisce.

Vincent was seen many years ago with Vaskila and Mortifer as they were traveling together. 

"Through here." Vincent told his friend and sister.

They saw a vault that looks Ancient Egyptian with the statues and the hieroglyphics.

"King Solomon's private vaults!" Vaskila remarked.

The three adults soon ran toward it to explore up close. Vincent took a close look at the wall and pushed in one stone which made the area shake until the door opened.

"The Chest of Demons!" Vaskila gasped happily.

"Come on. Let's go check it out." Vincent suggested.

They soon came up to a tomb which kept an ancient and mystical gift. Mortifer brought out the crowbar for Vincent who then used it until they heard a clang.

"I think I hit something." Vincent said before using the crowbar to lift up the lid to find a special treasure on the inside. 

Inside was the Chest of Demons and they soon went to carry it out to safety.

"One of the most important archaeological discoveries in history!" Mortifer smiled to the van Ghoul siblings. "Vincent, Vaskila, we are going to be famous!"

"Mm... I don't know about that..." Vaskila replied.

"She's right, it's too dangerous," Vincent agreed. "The chest exists in the Demon Chest in which Solomon trapped the 13 ghosts that plague the ancient world. The evil contains within this box was never meant to be released."

Vaskila was shocked that the chest was unlocked.

"Vaskila, what's wrong?" Mortifer asked the wizard woman.

"The lock! The crowbar must've--" Vaskila replied.

The chest soon burst open and white energy shot out from inside. There were roars and shrieks heard as the 13 ghosts were set free from the Chest of Demons.

Vincent bowed his head as he sat in his chair by the fireplace and Vinny made him a cup of his favorite tea.

"Thank you, dear." Vincent smiled to his niece's help. 

Everyone just looked at the wizard in confusion.

"So, what happened?" Cindy asked him.

"Mortifer, Vaskila, and I tracked down and found all 13 of the ghosts in the Chest of Demons," Vincent replied. "And that's where they remained... Until these two let them out!"

Shaggy and Scooby flinched from that.

"Well, at least we caught 12 of the ghosts." Daphne said as she sat down on the couch. 

"Who did they turn out to be?" Velma grinned out of interest. "Crooked real-estate agents? Disinherited step-children? Vengeful lighthouse keepers?"

"Velma, we keep telling you, they were real ghosts!" Brianna glared.

"Uh-huh." Velma replied.

"There's just no way we'll get her to believe in ghosts, is there?" Trent sighed.

"Nope." June muttered.

"Even though we've met a Witch's Ghost?" Trent replied.

"I've have my skepticism before, but this is too far." Double D said. 

"One is still on the loose," Vincent glared as he got up then and stared into the fire. "Asmodeus... The 13th and most powerful. How I have hoped that he vanished from this realm for good. I faced him once before, of course, Mortifer was by our side then."

"What ever happened to Mortifer?" Velma asked.

"We said we would protect the chest with our lives..." Vincent frowned softly. "And that's what he did, brave soul. He paid for my foolishness then, just as you're paying for it now."

"Speaking of paying; I hope that portrait was cheap," Eddy said as he was looking at the portrait. "He doesn't look anything like you."

Vincent took a look before sending a firm look to Eddy. "Well, sitting around here jabbering would be a grave mistake," He then warned. "We have to get to the Himalayas before Asmodeus finds the chest!"

"But how?" Fred asked. 

Vincent gave a small smirk as he handed the tea back to Vinny to show them a way how.

They were soon on a jet plane and took off to the Himalayas. Scooby was dressed like a female flight attendant as he came to check on the others with some snacks. 

"Uh, pineapple, please?" Fred replied.

Scooby then gave him a can of pineapple soda before offering some bags of snacks. "Peanuts or cookies?" 

"Uh... One of each?" Fred replied.

"Oh, my..." Scooby said before dropping the bags and walked off with a harrumph.

"This sure is a neat jet, Mr. van Ghoul." Double D commented.

"Why, thank you, Double D. You'd think I'd pay dearly for this, but you'd be wrong... Dead wrong!" Vincent replied before he gave a small chuckle as lightning appeared in the background.

"Uncle Vincent, you always had such an outrageous sense of humor." Vinny smirked.

"Your mother always thought so." Vincent replied.

"Oh... That reminds me... It's Friday..." Vinny soon said, reminding him of something.

"Huh? Oh... So it is..." Vincent said. "Let's see... She loves you... Very much, and misses you every day..." he then smiled to her.

"I miss her too..." Vinny said with a small smile.

"Uh... Forgive me, Mr. van Ghoul, but... Where exactly... IS your sister now?" Double D asked. "She.... She's not no longer with us now... Is she?"

"Oh, no, no, no," Vincent shook his head. "My sister is alive, she just works with The Other Realm Foreign Services. She was given the job opportunity, but she needed someone to look after young Vinny, so, being her favorite brother, she asked me."

"Sometimes I talk to her on my crystal ball whenever she isn't too busy." Vinny added.

"You must miss her a lot." Double D said.

"I really do," Vinny replied. "Her job is very demanding. Last I heard, she was visiting Pluto."

"She said that she would try to come and visit someday." Vincent comforted Vinny.

"Well, Daphne, I showed you," Fred smiled. "I don't mind being chauffeured. As long as it's a highly-skilled professional at the wheel."

"Uh-huh... Say, have you met the pilot yet?" Daphne smirked. "You should introduce yourself."

"Don't mind if I do." Fred smiled as he went to the cockpit to do just that and knocked on the door.

"Like, come on in!" Shaggy's voice replied.

"Shaggy?" Fred asked before opening the door. "SHAGGY!"

"It's Captain Rogers up here, young man! Not for formality, but when you've got ten tons of steel and the lives of every passenger in your hands, it's best to think of yourself as the office, not the man!" Shaggy smiled as he looked back to Fred before looking back at the sky. "Also, a little bit for Vin."

Scooby soon came beside Shaggy.

"Uh, stewardess?" Shaggy smiled.

"That's flight attendant!" Scooby glared in offense.

"Whatever you say, toots." Shaggy smiled.

Fred backed up slowly in slight disturbance before going back to his seat and quickly put on his seat-belt which made Daphne smirk.

"One thing's bugging me, Vincent." Velma spoke up.

"Is it your attitude?" June rolled her eyes.

"Hush," Velma replied. "Castle van Ghoul--"

"The rigged shutters? The howling wind?" Vincent smirked.

"That's right! Was that--" Velma replied.

"My home security system," Vincent chuckled. "It keeps everyone away."

"I knew it!" Velma remarked. "Not that it was convincing, but ghosts aren't real."

"I wish that were true, but fear not, Velma, before we're finished, I promise you'll change your mind about ghosts and goblins." Vincent said as he took a sleep-mask as Scooby walked by them. 

"Never!" Velma crossed her arms. 

Everyone else soon took a sleep-mask as they decided to get some rest since it would be a long travel. Cindy had on her headphones so she could listen to her music.

"Guys, Velma's attitude is starting to bug me a little." June said to Mike and Dee Dee.

"She doesn't seem to be as nice as she used to." Dee Dee frowned in agreement.

"I know, she's getting really annoying." Mike agreed with her best friends.

"Not even Cindy or Double D would go that far." Mike replied.

"Hm?" Double D looked over.

"Nothing, go back to sleep." June comforted him.

Double D then shrugged and went back to taking a light nap with Ed and Eddy until they would land since it was a long trip.

"It's almost as if most of our adventures never happened." June then continued.

"I know," Mike replied. "Some people think they're just dreams, but they're obviously not."

"So, you guys believe in magic, huh?" Vinny asked as she looked to them from behind her seat, kneeling in her own.

"Of course," June said. "I'm the Te Xuan Ze."

"I've heard of the Te Xuan Ze, I never thought I'd actually meet one," Vinny said to her. "Good to meet ya," she then looked confused. "I thought you weren't allowed to leave the barrier though?"

"Ah-Mah has her ways." June replied.

"I see," Vinny said before turning to the redheaded tomboy. "And what about you?"

"I'm a werewolf and a shadow-bender." Mike replied.

"I have ice powers!" Dee Dee giggled.

"If you ask me if I eat people, I swear to Moro--" Mike complained.

"Come on," Vinny rolled her eyes. "Everyone knows werewolves only eat people with a black heart when they really need to."

"Thank you!" Mike soon said in relief from what she said. "The mortals just don't understand... Just because werewolves in the movies basically eat and kill people all the time doesn't mean that I will."

"It's all right," Vinny replied. "I'm sure that must get annoying."

"You have no idea..." Mike rolled her eyes. "Uh, you know any werewolves personally?"

"This girl in my school is a werewolf witch hybrid," Vinny said. "Her name's Veralupa."

"A werewolf and witch hybrid?" Mike replied. "I've never heard of that before."

"Yeah," Vinny said. "Her father's a warlock and her mother's a werewolf. I've never met them, but it does sound pretty interesting."

"I'm just glad someone hasn't asked me if I eat people after telling them that I'm a werewolf," June said. "You won't believe how annoying that is."

"I can only imagine," Vinny nodded. "These mortals and their dumb horror movies. I usually don't watch them because of how untrue they are to some heritage, unlike in The Crucible."

"Tell me about it." Mike replied.

"What's a Crucible?" Dee Dee asked.

"It's a play based off of The Salem Witch Trials," Vinny said. "Sorry to bother you guys, I'll let you get some sleep."

"Um, well, okay." Mike said.

Vinny gave a small smile and then slid back down into her seat to get some rest beside her uncle.

"I like that kid." Mike commented.

"Me too." June nodded in agreement.

And with that, they went back to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Everyone soon snored once they fell asleep enough.

'Uh, like, ladies and gentlemen, this is Captain Rogers,' Shaggy said through a PA. 'We are now entering Himalayan airspace. If you look out to the right side of the plane, you'll see a ratty old haunted temple!'

Everyone gasped as they saw a castle in the Himalayas.

"Funny, I don't remember that courtyard when we first flew in here." Daphne commented.

"Of course, we were crash landing at the time." Brianna reminded her.

"That makes sense." Daphne smiled back to Brianna.

The others seemed to worry about that until they soon landed and came into the Himalayas, and everyone wore their winter gear. Fred struggled to drive the van out of the jet since they were on the ground now.

"Fred, are you sure that you can handle it?" Brianna asked. "Maybe I should get it."

"It's okay, I got it!" Fred replied as he struggled, but soon got the van out onto the runway.

"Girls..." Vincent said to Brianna and Daphne while checking his phone. "My Air Boo&Boo host just 'scream-mailed' me back on my diePhone. The package delivered from Shaggy was never delivered by the 'Ghostal Service'."

Velma gave a deadpan look to Vincent. 

"What? One too many puns?" Vincent replied.

"Three too many! Maybe four." Velma clarified.

"Where is everybody?" Daphne asked as she looked around. "It's the Supernatural Capital of the World!"

"News reports say that the whole village has been evacuated due to demon infestations." Double D said as he looked at his phone.

"Asmodeus!" Scooby yelped as he soon jumped into Shaggy's arms in fright.

"Hey, don't we know that guy?" Shaggy suddenly asked.

"He's the 13th ghost! You just met him at my castle!" Vincent reminded.

"No, not him," Shaggy said as he set Scooby down and pointed to a man who was looking at a Yakgurt Stand. "Him!"

They soon took a closer look.

"I like his style!" Scooby smiled.

"That's it! He was at our garage sale!" Shaggy realized.

"He was there!" Daphne gasped.

"Oh, yeah... Bernie Alan," Fred added. "I still have the check he bounced."

"And he's here now?" Vinny asked.

Vincent took out his opera glasses to get a closer look. "Hmm... That's quite a coincidence." He commented from that.

"In my experience, Vincent, there is no such thing." Velma smirked, patting Vincent on the back.

"My opera glasses!" Vincent gasped, bending down to pick them up.

"We better keep a close eye on this Bernie Alan guy." Velma commented.

"Not too close, okay, gang?" Daphne asked before seeing Shaggy and Scooby zip off instantly. 

"That didn't take long, did it?" Vinny deadpanned.

Shaggy and Scooby were right behind Bernie Alan with money in their hands. He turned around and screamed when he saw them and running towards the temple.

"We've got a runner!" Brianna alerted. "It looks like we've got a runner!"

"Vincent, you, me, Brianna, Vinny, the boys, along with Trent, Mike, June, Dee Dee, and Cindy are gonna follow that tourist." Daphne suggested.

"Meanwhile Velma, you, Fred, the Eds, and Jo take the Miss-Tery Machine into town, and look for Shaggy's--" Brianna began.

Vincent had a happy grin on his face to hear her next words.

Brianna sighed to that. "Scare Package..."

Vinny playfully rolled her eyes to her uncle as Vincent clapped happily.

"It's possible the post office has been holding onto it." Brianna then continued.

"But of course!" Vincent gasped. "The Dead Letter Office goes in, but it never comes out!" he then let out an evil laugh.

"Uncle Vince, cool it with the laugh!" Vinny pouted.

"Sorry, dear, force of havit... Erm... Habit." Vincent replied.

"All right, guys, let's split up then." Vinny then told the others.

And with that, they split up.

Fred, Velma, The Eds, and Jo were in the post office, trying to get someone to help them.

"Hello?" Fred called out as he rang the bell.

"Deserted," Double D remarked. "Just like the rest of the village."

"Looks like Asmodeus got here first." Fred shrugged.

"Maybe..." Velma said and looked to the Dead Letter Office door and went behind the counter. "Come on."

"Is this legal?" Double D asked.

"Who knows, who cares? It's deserted anyway." Eddy scoffed.

"You okay, Jo?" Double D asked.

"Eh, I'll be fine," Jo replied. "Summoning Trigon just takes a lot out of me."

"I would've imagined so." Double D replied.

They soon came into the backroom to do a little exploring.

"We laughed at Vincent, but he was right!" Fred said. "This place is creepy!"

"The sooner we find Shaggy's box, the sooner we can leave." Velma replied.

But unknown to them, someone was watching and ran off. Jo looked around as she thought she heard something, but shrugged it off for now as she followed the others.

Meanwhile, the others crept up behind Bernie was he was looking at his map.

"He looks lost." Daphne commented.

"I don't fully understand what we're doing," Vincent remarked. "Is this all because of a bounced check?"

"No, no, you said it yourself," Daphne explained. "It's a pretty strange coincidence this guy showed up here. I think he knows something we don't."

"Why don't we just ask him?" Vincent suggested.

"Like, the man's a notorious check bouncer!" Shaggy replied. "We'd never get the truth!"

"Unless..." Scooby began.

"Unless what, Scooby?" June asked the dog.

Scooby soon made gestures as a suggestion to show them what he meant. 

"Hey! That's right!" Shaggy smiled as he came up to Vincent. "Vincent, old buddy, why don't you cast an old truth telling spell on him? That oughta give us some answers!"

"Right! Of course..." Vincent replied. "Um... Let me see..."

There was soon a strange sound.

"Did you guys hear that?" Dee Dee asked.

"Oh, like, that's just Scooby's stomach," Shaggy smiled. "He hasn't eaten anything in over seven minutes!"

Scooby soon licked his lips in hunger.

"No, I believe I heard it too," Vinny said. "It came from down the road."

"Oh, no! He's gone!" Trent realized.

"Come on, we've got to--" Mike said until she heard the growling. 

"Excuse me." Scooby said.

"No, Scoob, I think they're right!" Shaggy told him. "It wasn't you! It... It was--"

The growling soon got louder which scared Shaggy and Scooby as everyone looked around for the sound, but it wasn't actually a growling. Behind them was the car from before.

"You gotta be kidding me." Daphne muttered.

"Like, run!" Shaggy cried out.

"Wait, this is crazy," Brianna said as she pulled him back from going anywhere. "First the guy from our garage sale shows up, now that car that tried to run us off the road on our way to find Vincent. What's the connection?"

"And then there's the bigger question." Cindy spoke up.

"What's that?" Scooby asked her.

"Why isn't it coming for us right now?" Cindy quizzed them.

"The child makes an excellent point." Vincent commented.

The car revved up its engine and the mountain began to crumble behind it.

"That's why," Cindy soon answered her own question. "All that motor revving! He was starting an--"

"AVALANCHE!" Everyone else soon realized.

Shaggy and Scooby soon put on miner's hats.

"Say, Daph. Like, now, can we--" Shaggy spoke up.

"RUN!" Daphne cried out to the others.

Everyone started to ran away, all but Vincent as he just stood still, but luckily Scooby came back for him, grabbing him by his coat and pulled him away. They soon began to slide down the snowy hill.

"Yo, kid, you know any magic spells to stop this?" Mike asked.

"I'm sorry, Mike, but I don't have any environmental or weather spells yet until I go back to school." Vinny pouted.

"Oh, perfect." Mike deadpanned.

"Whee! This is fun!" Dee Dee beamed.

They continued to slide down while trying to avoid the mess.

"Surf's up, am I right?" A monster girl smiled as she came out.

"Abbey Bominable?" Mike asked in surprise.

"Oh, hello, Mike," Abbey smiled. "Fancy seeing you around these parts of my homeland."

"The Abominable Snowman has come back!" Shaggy screamed.

"Relax, Shaggy, it's just one of my friends: Abbey Bominable." Mike told him.

"Oh, cool, I always wanted to meet a yeti." Vinny smiled.

"What brings you here?" Abbey asked Mike.

"We're looking for the Chest of Demons." June replied.

"Chest of Demons?" Abbey asked. "I feel like I've heard of this from Marisol."

"It's missing, and we still have to capture the 13th ghost." Cindy replied.

"So I see... Maybe I could try to help." Abbey said.

"Uh, before you do, do you have a way of becoming human?" Mike asked. "I don't want the others to flip out."

"Huh? Oh, sure! Ghoulia made these special medallions so we could walk among the normies whenever we need to," Abbey smiled as she took out a special medallion before she suddenly changed into a human teenage with skin that was very pale white with platinum blonde hair and blue and pink streaks to look like highlights with dark blue eyes. "How do I look?" she then asked the others.

"I'll tell ya in a minute." Mike said as they weren't safe just yet.

Vincent yelped before he was on an ice cap and they were taken for quite a wild ride which seemed to go on for a while.

Back with the others, they were still looking through the boxes, but didn't seem to have much luck in finding what they were looking for.

"I don't think we'll ever finish checking all these labels!" Velma complained.

"Hey, come on, Velma, don't give up, you can do it!" Fred encouraged. "Velma! Velma! Velma!"

Velma glanced at him strangely.

"V-E-L-M-A! She's the one who--" Fred smiled as he began to pose around while cheering.

"Why are you doing that?" Jo deadpanned to him.

"You're right," Fred sighed in slight depression. "I don't know what my role is anymore."

"Huh? What?" Double D gasped before looking behind them as a box suddenly fell in the middle of the floor. "Okay, that was weird."

"I'll go check it out." Fred suggested.

"Wait," Velma said, holding him back. "It feels like a trap."

"Oh, Velma... I think I would know if I was walking into a--" Fred smiled before walking off only to suddenly get caught in a net. "Oh..."

"Gotcha!" A voice said before a teen came out to see them. He had red sneakers, dark gray pants, a yellow hooded sweatshirt, a gray under shirt, and an unkempt mop of black hair.

"What's going on?" Eddy demanded.

"What's going on here is that I'm the one asking the questions around here, trespassers!" The teen boy glared.

"Fine, but first, I have a few questions for you!" Eddy glared back. 

"Oh, okay, shoot." The boy said, crossing his arms with a small smile.

They soon came to the main room after getting Fred down from the net.

"Not sure why you didn't just check the package registry first," The teen boy smirked. "Seems more efficient, but what do I know?"

"According to this, Shaggy's package was being held here until this morning." Velma said once she found Shaggy's name.

"This morning?" Fred groaned. "I can't believe that we missed it!"

"We'll have to keep looking for the Chest of Demons." Double D told the others.

"Wait, wait, wait! Chest of Demons?" The teen boy asked out of interest. "Well, why didn't you say so? Come with me!"

The others looked to each other and soon followed after the strange boy.

Meanwhile, the other group was still going down the snowy mountain as the avalanche was still coming towards them.

"Sure feels like we've been falling for a while," June said. "Dee, do you think you could do something about the snow?" 

"Okey dokie, June." Dee Dee smiled innocently.

"Sometime today, Dee Dee?" June replied. 

Dee Dee nodded as her goofy expression turned into a serious look as her eyes glowed a lighter blue and her hands glowed. 

"Ooh, I have a good feeling about this." Vinny smiled.

"Yaaaaugh!" Dee Dee yelled out as she soon stopped the avalanche from going any further.

"Good job, Dee." Mike approved.

Vinny sighed. "Someday I'll be able to use my magic like that... Maybe when I go back after visiting Uncle Vincent." 

After the whole avalanche deal, everyone was catching their breath.

"Well, the good news is that we made it to the temple." Daphne soon smiled.

"Let us go again!" Abbey smiled.

"Let's not and said we did." Mike teased.

They soon heard some revving again.

"Like, I think I already know the bad news!" Shaggy then panicked with Scooby. 

The car was at the top of the mountain, now creating another avalanche for them.

"Not again!" Cindy cried out.

"Looks like those winters at my uncle's cabin in Aspen are finally gonna pay off!" Daphne then said. "Everybody on!"

Everyone soon came onto the sign which Daphne turned into a sled and they tried to move to go down the hill to avoid the avalanche. They went up and down many hills while escaping the avalanche before Scooby used his back legs to skid them closer and further away.

"Tree! Tree! Tree!" Scooby called out, but luckily, Daphne was able to swerve past them. 

"This is so much fun!" Abbey smiled.

"For you, maybe!" June glared.

"It is fun, June!" Dee Dee beamed. "Put your hands up! I haven't had this much fun since that Snow Day when I had a snowball fight with Dexter!"

"Even that was a little chaotic," June replied. "You and your dad are crazy when it comes to snowball fights." 

"Quite the easily excited ones, aren't we?" Vinny commented about Abbey and Dee Dee.

"You have no idea." Mike replied.

The ride seemed to go on for a while as everyone just hoped that they wouldn't crash. They then finally managed to arrive at the temple.

"Vincent, this would be a perfect time for a door opening spell!" Brianna suggested.

"Kids, there's something I--" Vincent was about to say before they yelled out as they came to the door.

"Come on, Vincent! Like, Open Sesame!" Shaggy cried out.

Vincent looked like he was going through a deep concentration while Vinny secretly took out her training wand and decided to use it to open the door. 

"Hurry, before it's too late!" Cindy cried out.

However, the sign went up the stairs and they soon crashed with the snow against the temple.

Meanwhile, the teen boy was taking The Eds, Jo, Fred, and Velma to the Chest of Demons.

"You want your Chest of Demons?" The boy smirked to them. "All right. Prepare to enter The Realm of Darkness."

They soon saw a sign which merely said 'The Realm of Darkness: Mystical Gifts & Postcards'. 

"Could we just go in?" Fred shivered. "I'm freezing!"

The teen boy smiled as he let them inside and shut the door behind them as it seemed to be almost like a gift shop.

"Is that the Chest of Demons?" Fred asked, seeing the box.

"Sure looks like it." Velma remarked.

"Well then, thank goodness it's still closed." Fred smiled. 

"Oh, Fred, you're not starting to believe in this nonsense, are you?" Velma sighed as she went over to open up the chest.

"Velma, what are you doing?!" Eddy cried out.

"HAVE YOU GONE MAD?!" Double D added.

"You guys, it's just a box." Velma told them.

Everyone tensed up a bit as Velma was about to open up the box. Once she did, a bunch of dust flew out and the others went to hide, but Jo got into a fighting stance.

"See? Just an empty old--" Velma smiled until something came out of the box which was supernatural and she yelped from that. "JINKIES!" 

Velma and Fred ran off hiding in a couple of vases. Ed stood in front of Eddy and Double D, pulling out his sword, looking serious. The teen boy soon walked over with a calm smile.

"Are you insane?! It's--" Velma yelped.

"Double lined with a lean back seal to keep your stuff cold and your hot stuff hot." The teen boy smirked as he opened up a can of soda that was in the box before he drank it. 

"Seriously?" Jo deadpanned.

"Yeah, you want one, toots?" The teen boy offered.

"I'll ignore that, but what a letdown." Jo narrowed her eyes. 

"It's a cooler?" Eddy asked.

Velma cleared her throat once she came out of hiding. "Of course it is," she then said. "It's just a plain old cooler."

"Oh, well, if you're looking for something fancier, we've got it all!" The teen boy smiled before pulling back a curtain.

"I'm just surprised you knew I was a girl." Jo said to the teen boy.

"Hey, anyone with eyes could see that." The teen boy replied. 

"Finally, someone who has some sense." Jo commented.

"Wanna go out with me?" The teen boy grinned to her.

"Sorry, can't, I'm happily taken." Jo replied.

"Oh... Shame..." The teen boy said. "I bet you and I would've been happy together."

"Sorry, kid." Jo shrugged, not sure what to call him since she didn't know his name.

"Anyway, here ya go," The teen boy said as he showed them some Chest of Demons merchandise. "Chest of Demons coolers, Chest of Demons lunchboxes, phone chargers, you name it, we got it! And it's all celebrating this ancient relic that made the tourism capital of the Himalayas, with prices so low, it's demonic!"

The others glanced at him.

"Come on, guys." Velma groaned.

"Uh, I can probably cut you a deal if you buy four?" The teen boy suggested as he tried to keep them from leaving. "Or three? ...Two!"

"Have you ever actually sold one?" Eddy asked him.

"Once," The teen boy sighed. "But that was a long time ago."

"Sorry, but we're looking for the REAL Chest of Demons." Jo told him. 

"The real one?" The teen boy asked. "You mean up at the temple? At least, it used to be there... No, you wouldn't wanna go back to that place. Trust me."

"Why not?" Double D asked.

The teen boy seemed to smirk from that question. "Uh, you're not ghost hunters, are you?" he then asked them all. 

"Heh, as a matter of fact, kid, we are." Eddy smirked.

"Ghostbusters!" Ed called out.

"Not now, Ed." Eddy complained to that.

The teen boy smirked back as he was going to lead them to the real Chest of Demons before opening a cold, steel vault door. "Let's say you're at trouble with a capital T, you're troubled, tormented, totally trick-or-treaterified!"

"Huh?" Fred blinked in confusion.

"I'm talking about ghosts! I'm talking about goblins and geeks galore!" The teen boy replied as he spun Velma around before catching her in his arm. "To fight off fiends and freaks and more! You need a monster weapons store! A laser-guided harpoon gun will chase down and be done! This silver bullet cannon, yes, stopping werewolves at success!"

Jo glared in slight offense.

"A garlic bomb perfected at speed will finish off a vampire guaranteed!" The teen boy continued, taking out a small container of Drac B Gone. "So monster hunters, come on down, and you'll soon be saying that you found the lowest rates around! Here at Flimmy's Awesome Town!" he then jumped down before sliding into them on his knees. 

Everyone just stared at him while Ed was clapping.

"I guess you haven't seen our commercial?" The teen boy asked them since they gave him dead air.

"Nope, but you've got some terrific rhymes." Fred replied.

"Do you know Evil Tim?" Ed asked.

"Maybe in a former life." The teen boy smirked just to humor him.

"Cool!" Ed smiled.

"Well, with all the superstitious tourists coming through here, I'll bet you do quite a business." Velma smirked to the boy.

"What can I say?" The teen boy shrugged with his hands on his hips. "Fighting the undead, it's a living."

Fred soon looked over to see his scooter. "Whoa, neat!" he then smiled. 

"Give her a test run," The teen boy smiled to Fred. "You can drive a stick, right?"

"Of cour--Uh..." Fred replied as he put on the helmet.

"Ah, just kidding!" The teen boy chuckled before pushing him off. "It practically drives itself!" 

Fred yelped as he was driving the scooter.

"So, what can I interest you ladies in?" The teen boy asked, smirking to Jo and Velma.

"Trust me, I'm not your type, I'll just end up hurting you, and not just from a broken heart." Jo said to him.

"It's true," Eddy added. "Even if she was single, you'd probably need a leash to control her."

Jo narrowed her eyes at him in response.

"Nothing," Velma told the teen boy. "I don't believe in ghosts."

"Well, what do you believe in?" The teen boy asked her.

"Science!" Velma defended.

"I just remembered something." Double D said.

"What?" Eddy replied.

"Didn't Velma believe in the Loch Ness Monster when Chicken and the others went to Scotland for the Highland Games?" Double D then said.

"...Yeah! I think you're right!" Eddy admitted.

"I have no idea what you two are talking about." Velma said as she glanced at the two Eds.

"And you saw my uncle to help us get out of that jam earlier!" Jo reminded.

"That was just a hologram." Velma shrugged.

"Yeah? You wanna visit my mind and visit all of the holograms?" Jo glared as she reached out for Velma. "You first!"

"Velma is just like my four-year-old cousin Lisa," Ed said. "She goes to college and Kindergarten!"

"Your cousin and Velma could probably end up as great buddies." Eddy commented.

"Quite." Double D agreed.

"Everything is just an illusion from what we faced before." Velma said.

"First of all, YOU'RE WRONG! Secondly, we've faced a lot of crazy supernatural stuff, thirdly, YOU'RE WRONG! You saw what we've been through all those times before besides men in masks, fourthly, YOU'RE WRONG! And lastly, ZOMBIE ISLAND RING ANY BELLS?!" Eddy sounded the most frustrated with Velma's behavior.

"Eddy, just calm down..." Double D said.

"No, Sockhead, she needs to hear this!" Eddy replied. "We've been with you guys for a long time! Have you not seen what we can do? THEY'RE JUST ILLUSIONS? I DON'T THINK SO!"

Velma just rolled her eyes, even though for once, Eddy made a good point.

"Just because science can't explain ghosts yet, doesn't make them any less real." The teen boy advised to Velma.

"Eh, nice try," Velma replied. "You're a good salesman, but not that good. We believe in facts, not fantasy. Right, guys?"

"NO!" Jo and the Eds replied.

"Huh?" Fred muttered as he soon came by, looking a bit beat up from the wild scooter ride.

"I said we're leaving!" Velma said, dragging him out.

"Whoa! Hey, listen, it's really dangerous here after dark!" The teen boy told them. 

"Thank you!" Velma said as she shut the door behind her.

Soon enough, they were walking in the foggy mist outside.

"Can you believe that guy?" Velma huffed.

"No, what I can't believe is your attitude." Eddy replied. 

"I hate to agree with the Shrimp, but you're really starting to bug me." Jo said to Velma.

"You guys, it's okay to admit that those 'powers' you have are just really illusions and not really real." Velma said to them.

"Still bugged by ya." Jo replied.

"What do you want me to say?" Velma asked.

"I just want you to admit that you're wrong!" Jo replied. 

"Aw, come on," Velma said. "What's next, Biff and Jolene Cook from The Neptunes Band are mermaids?"

"You never know!" Eddy glared. "And besides, you saw that time when Henry and Alexandra turned into those Hulk monsters during that Phantom of the Talent Show Mystery or whatever you wanna call it. Those weren't illusions!"

"Yeah!" The others agreed.

"I think that kid has talent," Fred smiled about the teen boy they just met. "And between the souvenir shop, and the monster store, he's got two jobs! I don't even have one anymore." He then pouted.

"Aw, Fred." Double D frowned in empathy.

"What are you talking about?" Velma asked Fred.

"Yeah, talk to us, Fred," Double D added. "We're here for you."

"Daphne and Brianna are the leaders, Shaggy's the pilot, Scooby digs up clues and serves cold drinks, and Velma's the resident skeptic," Fred sulked. "What do I do? You saw me on that scooter! I-I can't even do background hijinks right."

"Well, at least you're honest," Velma shrugged. "Unlike that salesman back there."

Jo narrowed her eyes before taking out a spell phone. "Hey, Drell, can you send someone to Neptune for me?" she then asked.

"Is it Salem?" Drell asked, sounding a little too happy about that. "Maui? Uh... I can't send Maui... He and I are good friends, ya know."

"No, no, no," Jo replied. "Velma Dinkley?"

"Uh... I dunno if I can do that..." Drell replied. "I'm not really supposed to deal with mortals unless they cross my realm."

"Dammit!" Jo complained.

Drell shrugged with a modest grin.

"What are you good for anymore?!" Jo complained.

"Want me to erase your memory and send you into a reality where you don't have your powers?" Drell crossed his arms with a smirk.

"You wouldn't!" Jo seemed to actually panic.

"Do you want to test me?" Drell bribed.

"No, you win." Jo replied.

"Good," Drell replied. "Sorry, you're on your own, I'm busy." he then hung up on her.

"Dammit, that was a waste of time." Jo grumbled.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Fred." Double D said to the Mystery Inc leader.

"Selling the same story about things lurking in the dark, trying to nab us," Velma continued to rant. "Let me tell you, if something's trying to nab us; I'm pretty sure we--" Before she could finish her sentence, something grabbed her in the air, leaving her glasses on the ground.

The Eds looked at Jo, but she shrugged as he didn't do anything.

"Velma? Velma!" Fred called out until he saw her glasses and he picked them up until he was grabbed next.

"Oh, dear! Fred!" Double D cried out.

"And then there were four." Ed commented.

Eddy counted them out, and that was then true.

"We will be next like when the Kanker Sisters ate radioactive mashed potatoes and grew into mutant size!" Ed continued.

"It has to be Asmodeus," Jo replied. "Who else would do this?"

"We must prepare ourselves, my friends!" Ed proclaimed.

They were soon grabbed next without a first or a second thought.


	5. Chapter 5

Meanwhile...

"Like, that was 'snow picnic'!" Shaggy exclaimed.

"Why does it smell like wet--Oh..." Vincent asked before Daphne and Brianna turned on their flashlights as they ended up in the temple, but it was as dark as night.

"Relax, Scooby Doo," Shaggy soothed as he pet his best friend on the head. "We're still alive."

"Are you sure, Raggy?" Scooby whimpered nervously.

"Well, of course we're alive, ya silly!" Dee Dee giggled. 

They soon saw a gust of wind which made Shaggy and Scooby hold each other, shivering.

"How very lucky the door gave way," Vincent observed. "We could've been crushed."

Vinny took out her training wand and gasped as it appeared to be broken in half. "Oh, no! My wand! It's broken!"

"Ooh... That looks bad..." June said. "Can't you fix it with some magic?"

"An older witch or warlock or wizard has to, but Uncle Vince seems to be having trouble with his powers." Vinny pouted.

"Okay, that is really bad." June said.

"You're telling me." Vinny replied.

"Well, don't worry about it right now, at least we made it in the temple." Mike soothed.

"Yeah, but we're completely snowed in!" Brianna replied.

"Then, dude, how're we supposed to get out of here?" Shaggy asked as he held onto Scooby.

"I have an idea," Daphne said. "Follow me and watch out. Places like this are always filled with booby traps."

"And who better to show us around than Danger Prone Daphne?" Brianna teased.

"Very funny." Daphne smirked to that.

The others followed Daphne into another room, but it turned out to be a dead end.

"I don't suppose anyone has some rope?" Cindy suggested.

"It looks like we'll have to find another way out." Brianna suggested.

"Like, come on, Vincent," Shaggy smiled. "Don't you have a spell that can make us fly?"

"Oh, kids, I'm so sorry," Vincent frowned. "I--"

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Daphne asked before she turned to see some kind of shrine.

They walked over to take a closer look as one candle had a rather large flame.

"So somebody left a candle burning, big deal," Shaggy shrugged. "CANDLE! WHO LIT THAT CANDLE?!" he then panicked.

"I'll give you three guesses." Daphne said nervously.

"Ooh, it wasn't Eddy, was it?" Dee Dee commented. "It was so nice of him to do that for us."

"It wasn't him." Vinny said nervously.

"I'm BACK!" Asmodeus's voice called out. 

"Zoinks!" Shaggy yelped as the demon was on the rooftop before flying down. 

A fireball was soon shown and luckily, no one was hit by it. Asmodeus came up to a stone wall and lifted up the door before flying inside as the door closed behind him. Daphne soon slid in, grabbing the lit tree trunk and slid inside before holding the door open with the trunk. There was a piece of paper floating in the air. Daphne caught it and looked at it. She looked over gestured to the others to follow her.

"Come on, let's go." Brianna told them since Daphne signaled them.

Shaggy and Scooby were of course nervous about coming, but made it in just as the branch snapped and the door slammed shut.

"Yah!" Cindy yelped, but sighed softly. "That was loud."

"What is it?" Vincent asked Daphne.

"It's the Chest of Demons!" Shaggy gasped as he rushed over to take a look at the paper. "Like, Asmodeus has it!"

Scooby then ran into all of them by accident and they soon crashed into each other.

"I think they should call you Scooby Don't instead of Scooby Doo." Abbey said as she tried to make a joke.

"My hip!" Vincent called out. 

"My leg!" Cindy added.

"And he's getting away!" Scooby pointed out nervously about the demon.

"No, he's not," Daphne glared as she got up with the others. "Come on, gang!" she then whispered to herself. "I'm gonna miss this."

The others followed Daphne sneakily and quietly as they looked to see Asdomeus as he was putting the chest down. Brianna grabbed the drape and swung across, grabbing the chest and landed on the ground safely. She turned around and saw that the demon was flying after her. Daphne dodged before tossing the chest over and Cindy soon caught it, slightly stumbling, but stood back up. Asmodeus soon chased after her as she ran off before somehow sliding back against him and he took the chest away from her.

"Oh, man." Cindy frowned.

The demon just laughed at her failure. Cindy glared at the demon and blew a raspberry at him until he soon smashed her down with his fist, flattening her like a pancake. Asmodeus soon ran off with the chest until Shaggy and Scooby came out in scary masks which made the demon jump slightly as the chest flew out of his hands. Shaggy and Scooby then caught it before running off and ran even faster since they were exposed for their costume attempt.

"Shaggy! Scooby Doo! Over here!" Mike called out. "I'm open!"

Shaggy and Scooby looked to her and tossed the chest over to Mike as she ran before catching it.

"Got it!" Mike smiled.

The demon roared and now chased after the tomboy now.

Mike just laughed as she ran from Asmodeus. "Kinda reminds me of when I had to save Lancelot from those birdbrain pirates."

"GIVE ME THE CHEST NOW, FOOLISH GIRL!" Asmodeus demanded.

"Nah, I don't think I will." Mike replied as she kept running.

"I WILL PLAGUE 10,000 YEARS OF SUFFERING ON YOU AND THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE!" Asmodeus threatened.

"Oh, in that case..." Mike said. "No, I don't think so."

Asmodeus just roared and was still chasing after the tomboy.

"Meh, at least I'm getting some exercise." Mike said as she kept running before suddenly taking a sharp turn which made Asmodeus run into the wall since he didn't have time to react.

"Mike, I'm open!" June called out to her best friend.

Mike then threw the chest over to the Te Xuan Ze. June soon caught it with ease.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS IS?! SOME KIND OF A GAME?!" Asmodeus complained. 

"Yeah, and you're losing!" Mike laughed.

"WHY, YOU--!" Asmodeus snarled. "GIVE ME THE CHEST NOW!"

"I don't have it." Mike smirked.

"Dummy," June muttered as she ran with the chest. "This is lighter than I thought it would be. Maybe I'm a bit stronger than I thought."

The demon roared as he now began to chase after the Te Xuan Ze. 

"You think you can scare me? I've seen a lot," June replied. She went into a room which had both doors shut on her and even the ceiling lowered onto her. "That doesn't scare me 'cuz I can just go underground."

June soon came through a trapdoor as the spiked ceiling nearly came down on her, but she got away just in time. June then looked around before she found herself face-to-face with Asmodeus before she soon ran off with the chest. Dee Dee made a snow angel until she sat up and took the chest once June handed it to her and she soon ran off since it was her turn now. Dee Dee ran away happily, but stopped when the demon was right in front of her. She yelped and turned, only to find him in her face, but she ran up the stairs only to find Asmodeus flying towards her. Dee Dee kept running with all of her might like whenever she would have to save Dexter from getting into trouble. Asmodeus roared in frustration and chased after her.

"Whee!" Dee Dee beamed and soon threw the chest without thinking.

"Dee Dee!" Brianna complained, but luckily, she was able to catch the chest.

"Good luck, Bri!" Dee Dee called out.

"Thanks, Dee Dee." Brianna deadpanned.

Asmodeus soon chased after Brianna as she ran as fast as she could, leaving the demon in actual dust before she hid away in the shadows as he looked around for her. Asmodeus came right in front of her and soon breathed a ring of fire around her, trapping her for right now. Brianna looked around in a panic and was soon picked up and smiled once she saw that Daphne was swinging overhead of her until Asmodeus breathed fire on the tarp, ripping it and Brianna landed on a clothesline. Brianna bounced from it and soon jumped up with a kick to Asmodeus's stomach, making him grunt and she took the chest back from him with a smirk. Asmodeus growled and flew after her. Trent narrowed his eyes and pulled out his guitar and made a soundwave, hitting the demon.

"Man, this guy doesn't quit, does he, Uncle Vince?" Vinny asked. 

"I wish I could use some of my own magic to help, but I'm afraid that I can't." Vincent frowned to his young niece.

Asdomeus carried the chest went into a room, looking around when he heard a bell rang, looking around to find Shaggy and Scooby dressed as monks, meditating.

"Ooh, this should be good." Vinny commented.

"Like, Namaste." Shaggy greeted the demon.

Asdomeus looked at him in confusion.

"You're just in time for the complimentary hour of light meditation, Brother," Shaggy smiled before running up behind Asmodeus and pushed him onto a pillow. "Let me relieve you of your burden." he then tried to take the chest.

Asmodeus soon roared right in his face as he held the chest in his clutches. 

"Okay, so you're not quite ready to part with those Earthly possessions," Shaggy replied. "No problemo. Don't mind Brother Scoobert, he's reserved here a ten year vow of silence."

"I am?" Scooby soon asked.

"Well, he was," Shaggy nudged Scooby before he went to sit down beside the demon to demonstrate. "Better restart that clock, old buddy, old pal. All right, first, you'll need to pretzel your legs like a lotus, and no, I don't know what a lotus is, but who doesn't love a good pretzel, am I right? Man, I love pretzels!" he then began to meditate on his own. 

Asmodeus tried to get into a lotus postion, but had a hard time. Luckily, Shaggy and Scooby helped get into the lotus postion.

"Oh, my gosh! We haven't gotten you a robe!" Shaggy realized before he soon ran off to do that. "What are you, a size six?"

"Seven and a half?" Scooby guessed.

Asmodeus just glared at him.

"Seven?" Scooby replied.

The demon still glared at him.

"Seven and three quarters?" Scooby tried again.

"Thirteen!" Asmodeus snarled at him.

"Thirteen? Zoinks! You're a big one, dude!" Shaggy smiled as he came with a giant robe which was actually a curtain. "Now, just slip your arms through the sleeves." 

Asmodeus tried to do that only to see his hands were covered as Scooby got away from the chest.

"Namaste! Namaste! Nama-Stay away from you as possibly-ay!" Shaggy called out as he soon ran off with Scooby, ditching their Buddhist disguises.

They soon ran off with the Chest of Demons and slammed the doors shut behind them. Asmodeus snarled as he engulfed himself in the flames and soon chased after the cowardly duo. Shaggy and Scooby were hanging on the clothesline, but they couldn’t hold it anymore and fell into the ground. Soon enough, they ran away, running into the others were was coming up the stairs after the statue moved itself.

"My tailbone!" Vincent cried out.

"You got the chest!" June told him.

"Good work, you guys." Mike told Shaggy and Scooby.

"The darkness is still right on our tail though," Brianna said. "Scooby, start digging!"

"Reah! You got it!" Scooby smiled as he began to dig through the snow, but slipped and fell.

"Like, it's all iced over!" Shaggy cried before grabbing a hold of Vincent. "What we need now is a good, old-fashioned snow melting spell!"

"I've tried to tell you," Vincent sighed to him. "Ever since Asmodeus showed up, I haven't been able to cast a single, successful spell. I'm having Wizard's Block!" 

"And we have company!" Vinny added in.

The demon was coming towards them, looking really angry. "GIVE ME THAT CHEST!" Asmodeus roared at them.

"You have to try, Vincent!" Cindy urged the wizard. "It's our only chance!"

Vincent soon took out his crystal ball to give it a shot. "Spirits of the Scorpio, reveal your power, Let it flow, Into this realm with heat and the glow, And melt this icy, blasted snow!" he then recited as he held out his crystal ball towards the snow. 

Unfortunately, nothing seemed to happen.

"What's wrong, old man?" Asmodeus smirked to the wizard. "No powers?"

"Uncle Vince, do you have any emotional attachment to this crystal ball?" Vinny asked, taking her uncle's crystal ball. "I have an idea." 

"No, it's all right, because I always carry a spare." Vincent told her.

Vinny nodded and threw the crystal ball in front of the demon, casting a great light in his face. Everyone flinched from the bright light as Asmodeus seemed to let out a roar of pain.

Everyone soon seemed to wake up on the outside as it was dark out now.

"W-What happened?" Daphne asked. 

"Like, it worked! You got us out, Vincent and Vinny!" Shaggy beamed before looking around for the two. "Vincent? Vinny?"

Something green soon glowed from Daphne's backpack and she took it to open it up to see what was going on.

"Vincent!" Daphne gasped.

"Daphne, you're safe," Vincent said on the other end. "It worked!" 

"Oh, thank goodness." Brianna said once she saw the male wizard. 

"How did you do it?" Cindy asked Vincent.

"If I told you how the trick was done, it would no longer be magic." Vincent replied.

"But if Vinny destroyed your ball, how are you broadcasting now?" Trent asked him.

"Like I said, I always carry a spare," Vincent replied. "Listen! I don't have much time, I'm just calling to say goodbye."

"Goodbye?!" Scooby frowned.

"Yes, Scooby, you kids need to run," Vincent said. "This is between Asmodeus and me now as it should always have been."

"No, you cannot do this!" Abbey frowned. "We are team! We can't--"

"You must!" Vincent replied. "I'm sorry I brought you all into this," he then heard a noise before looking around. "Do not fear, I have the chest... For now. There's still time for you to get away from the pain. Save yourselves! Tell Vinny to go back to school, she'll be safer there!" he then signed off. 

"Vincent? Vincent!" Mike cried out.

"No Vincent..." Daphne said softly in remorse.

"This is not good." Abbey pouted.

Vinny sat up, getting out of the snow and soon hugged herself while shivering. 

"Vinny, your uncle wants you to go back to school." Daphne told the young wizard girl.

"But why?!" Vinny replied.

"You'll be safer there." Brianna said.

"I can't go back!" Vinny said. "Not when Uncle Vince is in trouble!" 

"You have no choice!" Daphne replied. "He told you to go!"

"Well, I'm not leaving!" Vinny replied. "My wand may be broken and I'm a student, but I am not a little kid anymore! I'm going to help save Uncle Vincent and take care of that Asmodeus, and I don't care what happens to me on the way!"

Everyone was soon silent until they heard a scream.

"What the--?" June asked.

They soon looked over and saw the others fall into the snow then.

"Oh, good, your other friends." Vinny said in relief.

"What on Earth?!" Daphne gasped.

"Hi, guys," Fred shivered with a small smile. "Mind if we drop in?"

Shaggy and Scooby soon laughed as that was kind of funny. 

"Get off of me, Ed!" Eddy grunted.

"Ed!" Dee Dee smiled.

"Dee Dee!" Ed smiled back.

The two soon ran into each other and shared a fond hug.

"...I'll admit that's pretty charming." Eddy commented. 

Double D and June soon had their own reunion hug.

"Uh... Mike?" Eddy asked.

"Ah, okay, for old time's sake." Mike said before she soon hugged Eddy with a small smile. 

"What happened?" Cindy asked them.

"Something unexplainable." Velma smiled.

"Where are your glasses?" June asked.

"I don't need them!" Velma smiled. "I see everything clearly now! Yes... Everything..."

"She sounds creepy now." Cindy muttered.

"I think Velma just had her first real ghost encounter." Fred commented.

Scooby soon waved his paw in front of Velma's face, but she didn't react.

"I think she's still having it!" Shaggy commented.

"Say, where's Vincent?" Fred asked.

"He's in the temple with Asmodeus and the Chest of Demons." Vinny pouted. 

"Well, let's--" Jo was about to say.

"No, Jo, it's over," Brianna cut her off. "The doors and windows are frozen shut. Even if Eddy could melt the ice down, by the time we'd make it to the chest, it would already be opened..." she then concluded with a sigh. "Maybe the Sheriff was right... We're out of our debt."

"Because of some frozen doors?" Fred replied. "Come on! We've fought harder things than this!"

"No, Brianna's onto something," Velma remarked. "I mean, what's the point? Ghosts exist, and they're about to take over the Earth! There's nothing we can do about it."

"Yeah, like, we're pretty good against guys in rubber masks, but when the monsters are real..." Shaggy added before shaking his head.

"We're just not equipped." Daphne frowned. 

"So, you're saying that we should give up?" Eddy asked. "After what we've been through?! You're forgetting that you still have us!"

"That won't be enough," Daphne replied. "He's gonna take over the world, and there's nothing we can do."

"Hey, now, you guys can't quit, that's my job!" Cindy said. "Oh, Scooby, don't cry."

"Actually, Cindy, those are tears of joy," Shaggy smiled. "You guys took the Scooby Snax with you and we haven't seen you in hours!"

"It's true! It's all true!" Scooby cried out as he clung onto Cindy. "Oh, Cindy!"

"Aw... Here, boy!" Cindy smiled, giving him some Scooby Snax. 

Shaggy tapped Cindy's shoulder which made her look at him until he began to cry. "Like, boo hoo. Boo hoo. Boo hoo."

"Just take them." Cindy deadpanned as she handed him the box of Scooby Snax.

Shaggy and Scooby then smiled to each other.

"Oh, and, uh, here are your keys." Fred said to Daphne, handing her the keys to the van.

"You keep them," Daphne sighed. "I don't know what got me thinking I was cut out to be a leader in the first place."

"Daphne, you can't quit," Vinny pouted. "You're like the big sister I've never had!" 

Fred looked around to see the gang, looking upset. Even Shaggy and Scooby who looked upset after their Scooby Snax box was empty.

"So, we're just gonna run away like a bunch of cowards?!" Jo snapped.

"Okay... That's it," Fred soon said. "That is it!"

"Fred?!" Mike, June, Dee Dee, and the Eds replied in shock.

"I've had enough of everybody feeling sorry for themselves!" Fred glared. "So, you're a little hungry, right?"

"Mm-hmm." Shaggy and Scooby nodded.

"Me too a little." Ed added.

"If you want your situation to change, you have to take action," Fred said before making a snowball and shaped it into a burger. "Here."

"A snowburger?" Shaggy replied before taking it. "Like, wow!" 

Ed and Scooby both drooled over it after Shaggy took a bite out of it.

"It's okay to get scared," Fred said as he walked over to the jockette with a glare. "Everyone gets scared once in their lifetime. Even tough girls like you get scared."

"No one's calling you weak, Jo, sometimes it's all right to be scared," Cindy added. "My grandmother says that fear even helps you from doing something stupid." 

Jo didn’t say anything, but turned her head, not saying anything as Fred went to Velma next.

"So you were wrong about ghosts," Fred then said to the smart girl. "They're real and out to conquer the world! Are you just gonna let them?"

"No," Velma soon narrowed her eyes in determination. "No, I'm not."

"As for you--" Fred then came up to Daphne.

"Don't bother," Daphne told him. "Look at yourself right now! Leading your friends back from the cliff's edge! You were born for this! You're heroic and kind, and above all, honest."

"I find that very admirable," Mike smiled. "You remind me of a younger version of Jamie." 

"Oh, really?" Fred narrowed his eyes. "Is that what you think?"

"Well, yeah." Cindy replied.

"Then it's time you knew the truth," Fred said. "All of you."

Everyone looked concerned to the leader of Mystery Inc.

"I lied!" Fred soon cried out. "Last summer, I went to cheerleading camp!"

Eddy soon laughed out loud which made Ed laugh with him.

"What?" Mike asked. "What's so funny?"

"Fred's a cheerleader!" Eddy laughed. "Cheerleading's for girls!"

Fred glared to that.

"Did you guys know that my big brother was a cheerleader?" Cindy glared to them.

"That means your brother's a girl!" Ed laughed then.

Cindy soon showed them a video of her older brother doing cheerleading moves which looked a bit professional and athletic as there was a whole lot to it more than gender stereotyping. 

"Whoa, your brother's pretty good." Mike commented.

"Yeah, he had to quit though," Cindy said. "He had too many sports going on, so he had to cut down when he was in high school."

"Give him my respect, I could never do that." Jo commented.

"Sure thing, Jo." Cindy replied. 

"Oh, that makes sense." Velma smirked to Fred.

Shaggy and Scooby then snickered to Fred.

"Jo, can you punish Velma or something?" Cindy asked.

"Send her to your mind, that'll shut her up." Eddy suggested. 

"Or send her to Evil Tim!" Ed added.

"Meh, maybe later," Jo rolled her eyes. "I don't really care what happens to her."

"Well, you think I'm some kind of a leader, Daph?" Fred soon continued. "Well, you're only half right, I'm a cheerleader! I've been down in the dumps because I thought everyone had a job, but me, but now I know what my job is and what it always has been," he then pulled out a pair of tiny pom-poms. "I'm the one who always believes in this heart in the rest of you~"

"What is going on?" Brianna muttered as she felt dumbfounded.

Fred soon made up a cheer for Daphne as he showed his new cheerleading skills. Cindy giggled, not making fun of Fred for being a boy cheerleader, but because she thought he was being funny.

"Like, wow," Shaggy commented. "This day has really taken a turn."

"Sooo, everybody rise and shine!" Fred smiled to the others. "Get on your feet and get in line! Let's bust a move and bust a rhyme, and catch some ghosts, it's busting time!" he then did some flips around Daphne. "What'll be, Daph? Are you gonna rally your troops and take this demon out to lunch, or are we just gonna call it quits?"

"Fred, I can't--" Daphne frowned.

"Daph!" Fred called out before standing beside her. "You're the one that drives stick! You're the one with a plan! You always see things from above, and knows exactly what the next move should be!" he then lifted her up in the palm of his hand.

Daphne looked in the sky as the sun was coming up. "From above..." she said as she soon felt motivated again. "Okay, gang, we're going to the airport!"

"I'm not going back to the Academy until I know that Uncle Vince is safe." Vinny said.

"Okay, Vinny, you can come too." Mike decided.

Vinny smiled proudly to that.


	6. Chapter 6

They soon got in the van, but Fred struggled on driving it. Velma was searching for her spare pair of glasses.

"This clutch," Fred struggled. "I can't--"

"Fred?" Double D spoke up.

"Not now, Double D." Fred told him.

"What are you looking for?" Jo asked Velma who was still searching.

"My spare glasses, I'm pretty sure I left a pair in the van," Velma said as she looked. "Oh! Here they are. Oh, yeah..." she then smiled once she put them on. 

Fred still struggled to drive the van.

"Someone else drive, please." Cindy suggested.

"My parents drive better than this." Abbey commented.

"This clutch... I can't--" Fred grunted.

"Fred." Double D tried again.

"What?!" Fred replied.

"That's not the clutch." Double D told him.

"You mean this is not the...?" Fred asked.

"That's the emergency brake!" Cindy told him as she took a look with Double D and Velma. "That pedal over there is the clutch."

Fred soon realized that and began to drive the van easier now that he saw his mistake. 

"Grandma Yeti drive better, but not bad." Abbey smiled to Fred.

"Not a word about this to Daphne." Fred demanded.

"Uh-huh." Eddy replied.

They soon rode off.

"Don't worry, Uncle Vince, we'll help you." Vinny whispered to herself.

Meanwhile...

"Mm... Mm!" The teen boy from earlier smiled as he snacked on some crackers which were shaped like The Chest of Demons. "You can really taste the demons!"

Velma opened the door, glaring at the teen boy.

"Aha," The teen boy remarked. "I had a feeling you'd be back."

"You know what?!" Velma glared as she got up in his face. "I was a lot happier before I believed in ghosts!"

"Yo... What changed your mind?" The teen boy asked.

"Doesn't matter," Velma replied. "What does matter is that right now, up in that temple, somebody's about to release 13 of the most terrifying ghosts upon the face of the earth!" she then stormed off to the secret vault. "So, we'll need one of everything."

"Whoa! Wow! Okay," The teen boy smiled to that as he took out a clipboard. "Let me just have you fill out a--"

Velma then slammed it out of his hands.

"No? Uh... Right, of course," The teen boy smiled nervously. "Time is of the essence--Wait. Did you say 13 ghosts?" he then asked.

"You're darn right we did!" Eddy replied.

The teen boy soon looked determined as this was serious.

Meanwhile, in the van Ghoul jet plane...

"Like, we're at 5,000 feet, and we're off!" Shaggy said over the PA.

The jet plane opened the back, revealing Daphne, Brianna, Trent, Scooby, Mike, June, and Dee Dee, wearing helmets and backpacks. Scooby looked quite nervous.

"Like, the auto-pilot's unavailable because it's engaged," Shaggy told the others as he took his own helmet. "A little cockpit humor for ya."

Daphne then put the helmet on his head while Brianna gave him a parachute.

"But seriously, I don't think I can jump!" Shaggy then panicked while hugging Scooby.

"That's okay, I'm going to push you." Daphne smiled as she put on the goggles and came to push them out the plane.

Shaggy and Scooby yelped as they were falling out the plane now.

"I hope these parachutes work better than the pilot episode for Pahkitew Island." Mike commented.

"I'm sure it will." June replied.

"I hope I don't break any bones again." Trent commented.

"You ready, Mike?" June asked.

"Yeah. Let's go." Mike decided.

Mike, June, and Dee Dee soon ran across the floor and jumped down out the plane together, making a shape together like the Power Rangers. Trent took a deep breath and jumped out of the plane. Then Brianna and Daphne followed him after putting the jet plane on auto pilot. Shaggy and Scooby were still freaking out on the way down. Daphne and Brianna soon swooped by and pulled their rip cords since they seemed too scared to.

"Come on, Trent." Brianna smiled as she pulled her boyfriend's rip cord.

"Thanks, Bri." Trent sighed in relief.

"No problem." Brianna smiled.

The others watched through binoculars.

"They did it!" Velma beamed once the others landed on the temple safely with their parachutes. 

Vincent's jet was seen still flying as the others made it to the temple.

"Now let's hope they can stall Asmodeus long enough for us to get there with all this hunting gear." Fred smiled.

"And stall Asmodeus long enough for us to get there with all this hunting gear." The teen boy commented.

"I just said that!" Fred glared.

"Huh? Oh, sorry," The teen boy replied before yelling out. "I said ' And stall Asmodeus long enough for us to get there with all this hunting gear'."

"Forget it! And don't touch anything back there!" Fred told him as he buckled his seat-belt before driving the van off. "You think we really should've brought him?"

"He's the only one who knows how to use all this crazy junk, so yes." Velma replied.

"Looks like we got a bogey at 12:00!" The teen boy said as he looked over at the computer.

"How did you...?" Cindy began to ask.

The teen boy pointed at the ghost car that had been chasing them ever since they got here.

"This guy!" Fred glared.

"You know him?" The teen boy asked.

"Not really so much of a him, much more of as an it." Velma replied.

"Here it comes!" Fred told the others. "Everybody hang on!"

The car then started to chase after them.

"Don't look!" Cindy soon closed her eyes.

"I'm not!" Fred replied as he had his eyes closed as well.

"Not you!" Jo snapped at him.

"Yak! Yak! Yak!" Ed cried out.

"Who asked you?" Cindy replied.

"No, look out!" The teen boy told them as a yak was passing.

"Yakkity Yak, don't talk back!" Ed called out.

The van drove by in front of the yak while the other car drove through the Yakgurt caravan.

"He's gaining on us!" The teen boy told them.

Fred pulled the clutch to go faster, but the other car was still chasing after them.

"Go left! Go left!" Abbey called out.

"Since when do you know how to drive?" Eddy asked Abbey.

"My parents." Abbey replied.

"And besides, we can't drive on that." Double D cautioned.

"Just trust us." The teen boy told them.

Fred soon drove the van to the left of the edge as the demon car chased them down. The demon car soon ended up in the snow while they were falling off the ledge before landing on a hill as they rode down back on the snow covered road. The demon car then followed them while under the snow in a Bugs Bunny fashion.

"That was amazing!" Fred smiled.

"You ain't seen nuthin' yet!" The teen boy smiled back. He then typed something in on the computer and pressed a key as what appeared to look like marbles came out of the van out onto the road, but the demon car dodged them. "And the piece 'de resistance..." The teen boy continued with a French accent.

Smoke soon came out from the tires to block the demon car's windows. The demon car soon flew off of the ledge as the van drove by the snowy bridge. The demon car zipped down the hill and soon crashed against a ledge, getting buried in snow.

"Whoa! That was incredible!" Eddy beamed.

"How'd you know how to do all that?" Double D asked the teen boy.

"Well, it's not my first time in a strategic altering mobile command unit." The teen boy smiled as he leaned back before the van drove across the bridge.

Fred then drove on ahead as they were now in front of the temple.

"Now we just have to figure out a way to get inside." Cindy told the others.

"Leave that to me." Abbey soon said before she took off her medallion and she was now back in her monster form.

"How smart is this Ghoulia girl?" Cindy asked.

"She's smartest ghoul in Monster High." Abbey smiled as she walked off. 

The others looked to each other before looking to the yeti girl to see what she would do.

Meanwhile, inside of the temple, the others crept along while looking around for anything dangerous, very quietly. Daphne stopped them as she thought she heard something before looking around the room. They then kept going until Daphne suddenly stopped which made the others bump into her.

"Scooby? Did you take off your parachute?" Daphne asked.

"Uh... Yep!" Scooby replied.

Brianna looked down to see Scooby still had his parachute, so she stepped on it, making him trip over it.

"Uh, nope!" Scooby then said.

"Scooby..." Brianna sighed.

"Shh! Like, would you guys keep it down?" Shaggy shushed.

"What is it, Shaggy?" Mike asked.

"I'm trying to hear what Vincent and Asmodeus are talking about." Shaggy replied.

"Uncle Vince?" Vinny blinked before taking a look with the others down below.

"Then take it! Strike me down and take it if that's what you wish!" Vincent told Asmodeus as he held the Chest of Demons.

"I won't!" Asmodeus replied.

"That's right, because the chest can only be opened by the living!" Vincent replied. "You need me!"

"Nonsense! Now hand me over the chest!" Asmodeus demanded.

"We have to do something!" Daphne told the others.

Scooby soon unbuckled his parachute.

"That gives me an idea." Brianna said.

With the other group, Abbey and the teen boy melted the door.

"Unbelievable." Fred commented.

"Ancient family secret." Abbey smiled.

"And this stuff melts anything!" The teen boy added, taking out a bottle.

They soon heard some echoing voices.

"Come on!" Velma told the others before they rushed off together.

Vincent was backing up from Asmodeus who was attacking him, shooting fire from his mouth. "I would've thought all this toying around was beneath you!" he called out as he ran. "Maybe the King of Demons isn't quite the great, fearsome monster we thought he was!"

The demon then roared at him.

"Let us be done with this," Vincent begged. "I've lost everything to you in decades, old fights starting with mine and my sister's best friend! If Mortifer were here--"

"Well, he isn't, is he?!" Asmodeus sneered.

Trigon soon came out as Vincent ran from the incoming fireball. Jo looked a bit sickly like she used up a lot of energy once she let loose her demonic uncle.

"Uh, is she okay?" The teen boy asked about Jo.

"Yes, she just used a lot of energy today." Double D replied.

"Gosh..." The teen boy said. 

"Eh, she'll be fine later on," Eddy told him. "This happens all the time."

"Are you sure?" Abbey asked.

"Yeah, she's tougher than she looks." Eddy reassured.

"I don't know, she looks a little sick." Abbey pointed out.

"I'll be fine." Jo said as she slowly got up.

"Jo, are you crazy?!" Cindy asked her. "You shouldn't get up right now in your condition!"

"I said I'm fine!" Jo told her.

Jo weakly walked to the battlefield, but she could barely walk over there. Dee Dee and June saw her walking, and it looks like the jockette was going to pass out which made them look at her with wide eyes.

"Oh, no," June muttered before yelping. "Jo! Get out of there!"

"June, what's going on?" Mike asked her best friend.

"Jo is going to get herself killed," June said. "She used all of the energy she had left to summon Trigon, and now she's walking over there. She can barely stand up."

Mike looked over to see Jo panting heavily and fell on the ground, struggling to get up.

"Come on, Jo, you need to sit down." Mike told her.

"I told you I'm fine!" Jo replied.

"No, listen to me, you're not," Mike told her. "If you don't sit down right now, you could die. You should sit down for a minute."

"I'm fine." Jo said.

"Jo, don't argue with me!" Mike replied.

"Look, I'm fine, see?!" Jo glared.

Mike looked down to see her legs were shaking, and looked up to see the jockette's face which was sickly pale.

"Jo. You are not fine," Cindy told the jockette. "You are going to sit down or lie down, and you are going to heal. You are not well right now."

"You're not my boss." Jo told her.

"Well, you are unstable, and I am," Cindy replied before yelling at her. "'SO YOU WILL LISTEN TO WHATEVER I HAVE TO SAY!" she then scolded. "If you don't sit down right now, you'll get yourself killed! You summoned your Uncle Trigon, SO LIE DOWN, GET SOME REST, AND JUST DO IT, ALRIGHT?!"

"...Okay." Jo soon said.

"GOOD!" Cindy told her.

Jo was soon put to sit down and closed her eyes as she seemed to fall asleep.

Jo opened her eyes suddenly and looked around as she suddenly found herself in a realm of darkness.

"Huh... Funny seeing you here." A girl's voice said.

Jo turned her head and soon looked to see a certain blue-haired girl: Botan.

"What the--?!" Jo yelped. "What are you doing here?! Oh, my God, I'm dead, aren't I?"

"Well... Not yet, anyway." Botan replied.

"Oh, that's fantastic," Jo commented. "I can't spend the rest of my life as a ghost!"

"Did I say that?" Botan narrowed her eyes.

"Well, no..." Jo soon said softly.

"You shouldn't summon Trigon too much, especially in the same day," Botan suggested. "It'll waste too much of your demon energy and even cause you to die."

"I had no choice," Jo replied. "I wasn't going to let my friends die."

"Or you could've had them use their own abilities and wait a little," Botan told her. "Right now, you're in Limbo."

"What does that mean?" Jo asked.

"Basically God and Satan are gonna talk over who keeps you for eternity when you do die or whether it's your time or not." Botan explained.

"Dammit," Jo growled. "How long is this gonna take?"

"Hmm... Usually it's a half hour sometimes." Botan replied.

"Why is this happening to me?" Jo asked.

"Well, like I said, you summoned Trigon a lot, and also, it's a very slim chance that a demon will go into Heaven," Botan said. "Also, you need to cool down a bit, especially with that anger of yours to your friends."

"What are you talking about?!" Jo glared from that slightly.

"Look, I know you've had a bad childhood, I get that, really, I do," Botan told her. "But your friends are there just to try to help you, and you just toss them aside so you can come out on top."

"Ah, what do you know anyway?" Jo huffed as she turned away from Botan.

"Because Hiei is the same way as you are," Botan told her. "He gets annoyed a lot with Yusuke and Kuwabara just like you do with Duncan and Eddy, but deep down inside, you two both care about your friends."

Jo looked away with shadows covering her eyes as she was thinking about her friends and they accepted her, despite who she was. Botan nodded firmly and soon walked off to leave Jo alone with her thoughts.

"I'm sorry," Jo soon had tears running down her face. "I don't want to die early, I just wanna be back with my friends!"

"I'm sorry, Jo, but it's not up to me... It is up to the judges." Botan replied.

Two lights soon then appeared which only meant one thing.

"Well, it looks like they've already made their decision." Botan remarked.

"Well, what did they decide?" Jo asked.

"Will you be patient?" Botan glared slightly. "That's the problem with you sometimes."

"Sorry..." Jo said, but in her mind, she was already scared of what decision would be made about her fate.

Botan soon walked off to meet God and Satan to see what was going on. As Jo waited, she turned over to hear some water and saw that it was a river with a cloaked figure on a boat and the boat said 'RIVER STYX'.

"I want to live again to see my friends, my family, and Justine," Jo begged as she felt so alone right now as tears ran down her face. "I want to help defeat the Darkstar Council so we can all finally live in peace."


	7. Chapter 7

Meanwhile, Vincent kept dodging Asmodeus and Asmodeus was being confronted by Trigon who helped out.

"Never did I ever imagine receiving help from Trigon." Vincent commented to himself.

"Don't get used to it, van Ghoul," Trigon replied. "I'm only doing this because I want to get rid of Asmodeus for betraying me!"

"Fair enough." Vincent replied. 

"As for you!" Trigon soon grabbed a hold of Asmeodeus and flung him against the wall. "That's for betraying me!"

"I didn't need you!" Asmodeus glared. "I would've ruled the world all by myself!"

"I'm going to make sure you get put back in that chest where you belong." Trigon glared to his so-called old friend.

"Not before I send you straight back to Hell!" Asmodeus retorted.

"If I have to go, then you're going down with me!" Trigon scowled. 

They soon heard some moan which made them look around.

"I am the 14th ghost..." A 'sheet ghost' said as he moaned and groaned, coming toward the two demons. "Whooooohhh~"

"Oh, dear." Vincent face-palmed to that.

"There's no 14th ghost!" Trigon remarked.

"He's right!" Asmodeus added.

"Like, that's what yooooou think!" Shaggy's voice replied.

Asmodeus snarled and soon went after the sheet ghost.

"No!" Vincent cried out, throwing the chest and soon went to stop the winged demon as he lunged out.

The two then ended up on the floor with the Chest of Demons beside them.

"The chest!" Scooby gasped.

Asmodeus soon grabbed the chest and ran.

"NO!" Vincent called out as he chased after the winged demon.

The others soon came over top.

"Is that Asmodeus?" The teen boy asked.

"Nope, but a ghost's a ghost!" Velma smiled, about to shoot the sheet ghost.

Scooby looked over and waved with a smile. "Hi."

"It's doing something!" Fred pointed out.

"Velma! Now! Use the VacuuSpook!" The teen boy cried out.

Velma did just that and the machine began to charge up.

"No!" Scooby panicked. "It's me!"

The sheet was soon lifted up.

"Daphne? Shaggy? And Scooby?" Fred asked. "Huh, nice human pyramid!"

"Did you say 'Daphne, Shaggy, Scooby'?" The teen boy smiled brightly. 

"Flim-Flam?!" The trio asked in shock.

"I thought your name was Benny?" Velma asked the teen boy.

"Oh, no. Benny owns the shop, I'm just the eye candy." The teen boy smiled as he came down the stairs.

"Flim-Flam, is that you?!" Brianna called out.

"Brianna, you're here too?" Flim-Flam smiled. "Of course it's me!"

"Like, dude! You've grown up!" Shaggy said.

"Fast!" Scooby added.

"I was long overdue for a growth spurt," Flim-Flam smiled. "Daphne, your hair is totally different! Shaggy, I've never seen you wear a shirt that isn't red!"

"Hiya!" Scooby smiled as he jumped into Flim-Flam's arms before licking his face. 

"Scooby-Doo, you and Brianna haven't changed one bit," Flim-Flam smiled as he held the Great Dane in his arms. "You know, I thought that red van was familiar."

Trigon looked over and didn't want to deal with the cheery demeanor and happiness, so he went back to Jo's mind.

"Flim-Flam?!" Vinny gasped.

"Vinny, you're here too!" Flim-Flam replied.

"Well, looks like the gang's all here." Fred commented.

"Except Scrappy." Flim-Flam remarked.

Fred and Velma looked to each other in confusion as though they forgot all about Scooby's nephew.

"What's a Scrappy?" Velma asked.

"Velma, that's not very nice." Brianna scolded. 

"Oh, Flim-Flam, it's good to see you, I feel like I haven't seen you in years." Vinny smiled.

"I feel the same way about you," Flim-Flam said as he began to look at his best friend differently from when they were kids. "You were... You were..." he then paused as he looked into her eyes and she did the same to him.

"I missed you too..." Vinny soon smiled before blushing as well as he did.

The two smiled to each other.

"Come on!" Daphne told the others. 

"She's right," Vinny said. "We have to help Uncle Vince."

"Vincent's here too?" Flim-Flam replied before deadpanning. "Was nobody going to pick up a phone?!"

"Eddy, would you go and get Jo for us?" Mike suggested.

"Sure thing, Mike." Eddy replied as he went off.

"Lift with your knees, not your back." Mike said.

"Yeah, yeah," Eddy replied only to struggle with lifting her up. "Man, she's heavier than I thought. Come on, Jo, wake up!"

Meanwhile, Jo was waiting for the results, then she saw Botan coming over with a small smile.

"Well, what's going on?" Jo asked.

"You'll get to live." Botan smiled.

"What's the catch?" Jo asked.

"No catch, as long as you continue to use your powers responsibly, and--" Botan smiled.

"Yo, Botan?" A voice called.

Jo turned to see with Botan that there was a boy around teenager age with spiky orange hair in a black robe.

"What's the verdict?" The boy asked.

"Jo is going to live until her time eventually does come," Botan told him. "You don't have to collect her soul, Ichigo."

"Dammit! Rukia told me that she was ready!" Ichigo complained. "What a waste of my time!"

"I don't know what gave you that thought." Botan smirked.

"Hmph." Ichigo pouted.

"Uh....?" Jo blinked.

"Don't worry, you'll find out later." Botan told Jo.

"Whatever you say." Jo shrugged to that.

"Ready to go?" Botan asked.

"Yeah, I'm ready." Jo nodded.

"Close your eyes." Botan told her.

Jo then did as told.

"Now open them." Botan said.

Jo soon opened her eyes and found herself back in the temple with the others as she was brought back to Earth to continue living her life.

"Man, she's heavier than I thought." Eddy grunted as he still struggled to pick up Jo.

"Hey!" Jo called out to him.

"ZOMBIE!" Eddy then panicked and rushed off, dropping Jo and hid behind a pillar.

"You don't change much, do ya?" Jo deadpanned as she fell to the floor from that.

"Jo, is that you?" Eddy asked.

"Who do you think it is?" Jo deadpanned.

"Well, uh, it's just that you were kinda dead or something, I thought maybe you weren't conscious." Eddy shrugged.

"Well, no, I'm not dead!" Jo rolled her eyes.

"How was I supposed to know?" Eddy replied.

"At least you didn't draw on my face for once," Jo rolled her eyes. "I don't know how you and Duncan think you can get away with pulling that shit on me."

"Aw, Jo, would I do that to you?" Eddy replied.

"Let me think for a min--YES!" Jo glared.

"Uh, let's go see the others." Eddy said, trying to change the subject.

The duo ran over to catch up with the others, but they were surprised to see Vincent unconscious.

"Vincent!" Flim-Flam cried out.

"Uncle Vince!" Vinny added.

The two ran over to the fallen wizard.

"Flim-Flam?" Vincent muttered. "Oh, this is quite a reunion," he then looked to see his niece. "Virginia Maurecia van Ghoul, haven't I told you to go back to school?"

"I'm sorry, Uncle Vince, but I had to see you." Vinny frowned.

"Well... It's good to see you," Vincent admitted. "But I'm afraid it's too late. The world is doomed! And it's all my fault!"

"That's crazy; we fought all of the 13 ghosts," Flim-Flam replied. "If it really is the end, we're all responsible."

"Yeah!" Vinny added.

"No, you don't understand, the portrait, hanging in the family's castle, isn't of me, but of mine and Vinny's ancestor, the first to bear the name 'van Ghoul'," Vincent replied. "He was the most powerful sorcerer the world has ever known, but power corrupts... Little by little, he used his magic to twist the will of man into his service, but the powers of good conspired to elite my ancestor from his appointed throne. He was defeated, stripped of his mortality, and trapped in a specially crafted, inescapable prison, where unfortunately, he had nothing but to wait and grow his already substantial powers. In life, he was called 'Asamad van Ghoul', but now he goes by..."

"Asmodeus..." Flim-Flam and Vinny whispered in realization.

"Vinny, her mother, and I are the last of the van Ghouls," Vincent continued. "And as such, the crimes of our ancestor are my responsibility as the man of the family, and mine alone. I'm sorry I never told you."

"Old fool!" Asmodeus scoffed.

Everyone turned around to see the demon coming out of the shadows with the chest in his hands.

"It's finished!" Asmodeus grinned darkly as he put down the chest. "The Chest is mine!" He soon opened it up.

Flim-Flam and Vinny soon both gagged as that seemed to repulse them and even Vincent groaned.

"He's releasing the ghost!" Daphne panicked.

"We're too late!" Brianna added.

"What kind of attitude is that?" Fred huffed to them before taking out his pom-poms. "We've got spirit, yes we do! We've got spirit, how 'bout--..." he then paused as this wasn't helping anyone. "You know what? Bad time."

"Ya think?" Mike deadpanned.

Asmodeus laughed wickedly as it seemed like he had won this round between good and evil.

"Velma! Now!" Flim-Flam called out. "Use the VacuuSpook!"

Velma soon took out the weapon as she slowly walked up to Asmodeus before stopping. "No."

"What are you doing?!" June cried out.

"Mr. van Ghoul, something's bothering me." Velma glared.

"Is it your attitude lately? Cuz that's what's bothering me." Mike rolled her eyes.

"No." Velma glared back.

"Is it the smell?" Vincent asked as he plugged his nose.

"In the last day, I've seen everything I've believed turned upside down," Velma glared to him. "Ghosts and demons were real, so I decided to play by that set of rules."

"Along with acting like Scrappy doesn't matter?" Brianna replied. "Sure, he may be annoying, but he was just a kid."

"Anyway, I'm saying that rules are rules," Velma continued. "And the first rule of the Chest of Demons is that it can only be opened by the living."

The others gasped to that.

"Why, that's right!" Vincent remembered.

Asmodeus soon slammed the chest shut once he had been exposed and soon ran off with it.

"Yes," Brianna smirked. "It is time find out who he really is." She then used the VacuuSpook to suck up the demon.

Velma and Daphne both ducked down as Asmodeus tried to get away, but it was hopeless for him.

"NO!" Asmodeus cried out as he flew back before dropping the Chest of Demons and his head seemed to come off to reveal to be a mask.

"Another mask?" Mike face-palmed. "Man, this adventure's kind of a major letdown."

Vincent was shocked as the demon was actually Mortifer. "It... It can't be!" he then gassped. "My sister and I saw you die!"

Vincent's memory soon showed Mortifer being taken by the dark demons as Vincent and Vaskila looked horrified for their friend.

"You saw an illusion!" Mortifer smirked to him. "I was always good with illusions. A magician that tricked the wizards!"

"But why?" Vincent frowned.

"I wanted the Chest, Vincent!" Mortifer glared. "But you wouldn't let it go... You thought it called to you, but you never saw it for what it really is. An artifact... Ancient... Beautiful... And priceless!"

"Priceless? How did you come up with $10,000,000, that's your asking number, isn't it, Quinch?" A voice then asked. Out of the shadows was Bernie Alan who was apporching the group.

"Bernie Alan?!" Fred gasped. "Boy, you're a bad penny!"

"More like a bad check." Shaggy remarked.

"Bernie Alan? Ha! I think not!" The man smirked as his voice suddenly changed before he was revealed to be a totally different man in disguise. "Vance Linklater: Undercover Interpol agent and amateur figure skater."

"Don't let Josee and Jacques hear you say that." June smirked.

"Swarm, boys!" The man called out into his wrist communicator.

Out of the ceiling came the SWAT team and they surrounded Mortifer with guns as the others looked shocked.

"We've been tracking Old Quinchy here for months," Vance smirked to the group. "Ever since he's been reaching out to the world's wealthiest collectors about selling them the legendary Chest of Demons, but the trail went cold after your garage sale, kids. So, lucky I was in town in line for the Male Himalayas Interpreter's Semi-Finals."

"Like, if you're a cop, why did you run away from us?" Shaggy asked.

"I'm afraid of teenagers." Vance muttered.

"Does everybody have ephebiphobia now?" Cindy deadpanned.

"So it was only about profiting off the sale of an ancient relic!" Daphne glared. "It was never about releasing the 13 ghosts!"

"Like, speaking of which, where are they?" Shaggy wondered. "What was all that vapor?"

Scooby soon came up to the chest and sniffed it before groaning and taking out a decayed old sandwich. "An old sandwich!"

"That's disgusting!" Double D groaned as his face turned green.

"Can I have it?" Ed smiled.

"NO!" Eddy and Double D replied.

"Like, oh, man!" Shaggy yelped.

"What is it, Shaggy?" Trent asked.

"I think I shipped Vincent the wrong Chest of Demons," Shaggy said as he picked up the box. "This one's the cooler I bought off Flim-Flam!"

"Told ya I sold one." Flim-Flam smirked.

"That still doesn't explain the lights and screaming mist." Daphne glared.

"Heh, that's just part of the premium total immersion package." Flim-Flam chuckled as he showed a switch behind the box for on and off for the mist.

"Well, you kids have been a great help," Vance grinned as Mortifer was being taken away. "You should think about solving mysteries full-time."

Mike and June glanced to each other with slight deadpan to that statement.

"Wait a second! We're not done here!" Daphne glared before nudging Fred.

"Huh? Oh, yeah!" Fred replied before going to Mortifer and whispered him something to say.

"I.... Would've gotten away with this..." Mortifer began.

Fred then whispered in his ear again.

"If it weren't for you meddling kids?" Mortifer then finished.

"Eh, we'll take it." Eddy shrugged.

Mystery Inc looked relieved once that was finally said, it was annoying, but they kind of missed it.

"That's better." Brianna smiled.

"I'm sorry, old friend." Mortifer bowed his head to Vincent.

"For impersonating my ancestor?" Vincent replied.

"And for this!" Mortifer smirked as he made the handcuffs disappear from his wrists and they were suddenly on Vincent's and the demon car came through, breaking the wall in the process. "That's my ride."

The others glanced to him.

"Don't look so shocked." Mortifer scoffed at them before running to the car and soon drove away.

"We gotta stop him!" June proclaimed.

"Oh, just let him go." Vincent suggested.

"No, the car's engine," Abbey clarified. "If he keeps revving like that--"

"The avalanche!" Vincent realized. "You're right!"

And with that, the others chased after Mortifer while the SWAT team looked at each other and shrugged. Mortifer soon drove the car through the snow tunnel and came out of the avalanche zone before he kept driving off.

"Mortifer! You must listen!" Vincent called out as he came with the others. "The engine--"

"Sounds fine to me!" Mortifer laughed before he drove down the bridge. "So long, Vincent!"

The mountains up above began to rumble and were about to bring out another avalanche.

"Mortifer, you fool! STOP!" Vincent cried out.

Mortifer didn't hear him as he was still driving the car, but there were cracks on the bridge, bringing it down and taking Mortifer down with it.

"NOOOO!" Vincent cried out.

Vinny soon hugged to her Uncle Vince with slight tears in her eyes. Vincent looked down and soon hugged her right back. There appeared to be a snowy ghostly form of Asmodeus and soon it turned into Asamad.

"Asamad..." Vincent whispered before the image cleared. "He's at peace... Asamad van Ghoul can finally rest, but I don't understand..."

"Well, it might have something to do with this translation." Velma said, handing him the big book from earlier.

Vincent took the book and cracked it open. "'Asmodeus will not rest until he achieves his revenge'."

"Only, the ancient Sanskrit word for revenge looks a lot like the word for redemption," Velma clarified. "Asamad van Ghoul had a lot of time in The Chest of Demons to consider his misdeeds. He wasn't looking for vengeance, he wanted to be redeemed. What I have to guess is that the 13th ghost, your ancestor, was looking out for you like a guardian angel, and now that you and Vinny are safe, he can finally rest."

"Yes, that's right," Vinny replied. "We're sure of it."

"Are you guys nuts?!" Eddy remarked. "That was a big clod--"

June stepped on his foot so he wouldn't say anything else.

"YEOWCH!" Eddy yelped from that.

"I'm sorry about your friend." Vance said to Vincent.

"Look!" Vinny cried out once she saw someone climbing on the other end of the cliff on the other side. 

Mortifer soon chuckled once he made it out alive only to get tackled by the SWAT Team.

"It's okay," Vincent replied. "I can always visit him... In the 'Ghoul-log'." 

Vinny rolled her eyes slightly as her uncle had a laugh to himself.

"He's gonna be fine." Daphne said.

"Yep." Brianna added.


	8. Chapter 8

Later on, it was soon time to go back home.

Vinny pouted to her wand until Cindy took it and decided to fix it with her own powers and handed it back. "Wow! Thanks, kid!" she then beamed.

"Sure." Cindy smiled.

"Hey, Vinny?" Flim-Flam spoke up as he walked over.

"Yeah?" Vinny replied.

"Well, I was... Erm... Wondering if you'd want to go out with me sometime?" Flim-Flam invited.

"Go out?" Vinny blushed. "You mean like on a date...?"

"Uh... Yeah?" Flim-Flam replied.

Vincent seemed to turn dramatically from that.

"Well... Sure, Flim-Flam..." Vinny blushed to her best friend. "Um... You were always my best friend. I just hope that it's not weird."

"I don't think so." Flim-Flam blushed back to her.

"Well... I suppose we could try it out." Vinny said bashfully. 

"Do you have to go back to the Academy now?" Flim-Flam gave a small pout.

"Yes, Vinny must go back to school," Vincent grinned as he came between the two like an overprotective male guardian. "Flim-Flam, it was nice seeing you again though."

"Oh, sure thing, Vincent." Flim-Flam smiled.

"Call me." Vinny told him.

"I sure will." Flim-Flam then blushed.

Vincent glanced between the two. Vinny soon took out her spell phone to get a ride back to school.

"It was really nice seeing you again, Vinny," Daphne smiled. "You liking your school?"

"Eh, it's okay." Vinny smiled back. "I miss having adventures with you, Brianna, Scooby, Flim-Flam, and Scrappy though."

"Those were some good times, weren't they?" Brianna smiled.

"They sure were." Vinny smiled back.

The girls soon shared a hug before letting go.

"You kept my pin!" Vinny beamed once she saw the Witch's Star on Daphne's shirt.

"It was one of the best gifts I've ever received." Daphne smiled to the young witchling.

"I'm glad that you like it, and I hope to see you guys again sometime really soon." Vinny smiled back.

Brianna and Daphne smiled as they shared a group hug with Vinny. The van was soon driving up to the jet.

"See, Daph? You got this leadership thing in the bag!" Fred smiled to Daphne. "All you needed was a little encouragement. A cheeeeering session!"

"You're not about to whip out the pom-poms, are you?" Daphne smirked.

"I mean it," Fred told her. "I'm sorry I never saw it before, Daph, but you're the engine that makes this whole team run."

"Aww..." Daphne smiled. "I may be the engine, but you'll always be the driver."

Fred and Daphne smiled to each other.

"You think Captain Rogers will let me fly the plane?" Fred asked.

"As long as you stay away from the emergency brake." Daphne smirked to that.

"Velma!" Fred grumbled.

"So, after all that...?" Flim-Flam asked Velma as they walked off together.

"Indeed," Velma said. "I guess from everything I saw, there might be such a thing as magic and ghosts after all."

"About dang time!" Jo commented as she put her hands in her pockets.

"I know, right?" Cindy added in agreement.

"So now you realize that other worlds are real like other creatures," June said to Velma. "You see where your skepticism gets you? Nowhere!"

"You tell her, June!" Dee Dee cheered.

"...I just did, Dee?" June replied.

Dee Dee just looked confused and didn't know how to respond to that.

"Never mind, let's just get ready to go home," June said. "Uh, I'm sure Dexter missed you."

"Oh, boy, won't he be so happy to see me again?" Dee Dee smiled as she soon got on her tiptoes and danced towards the plane.

"I'm just glad that Velma's gonna be more open about the supernatural world now," June said to Mike. "I mean, after that adventure with KISS, I'd believe anything if I were her."

"Even if we weren't there for that." Mike reminded.

"Mike, I must be getting back home," Abbey said to the tomboy. "Dad might be getting worried."

"Thanks for all your help, Abbey." Mike smiled.

"Come back to Monster High sometime?" Abbey asked.

"I'll see what I can do, but I'll be sure to visit and go with you guys somewhere," Mike smiled. "Draculaura's told me about her cousin Drak."

"Ah, yes, Dracula's nephew," Abbey nodded. "He is a... How you say in your language... Very cute?"

"I'll bet that he is." Mike chuckled to that.

"Goodbye, Mike, this was fun." Abbey smiled.

"It was, Abbey," Mike smiled back. "I'm glad I got to see you. See ya later on."

Abbey soon went off to the mountains to continue her family visit until she would have to go back to school.

"Come on, June, let's get back home." Mike told her best friend.

"Yeah, sounds good." June smiled.

"Hey, Butler!" Jo soon called out.

"Look, if this is about me yelling at you earlier, I just want to say that I care about you and don't want you to get hurt." Cindy said to her.

"No, no, it's not that." Jo said.

"Oh, okay then," Cindy replied before looking a little relaxed. "What's up?"

"Look, I'm sorry if I treated you guys differently." Jo soon said.

"Did... You just apologize?" Cindy blinked in surprise.

"Did I stutter?" Jo glared slightly. "It's idiotic comments like that that make me feel unsure about making my own decisions."

"Oh, no, I was just surprised is all," Cindy defended. "What made you change your mind?"

"Let's just say that someone helped me." Jo replied.

"Um... When you were knocked out for a while... Did you go somewhere?" Cindy asked.

"I don't know if you know her like the Nelsons, but her name's Botan." Jo said.

"Oh, yeah," Cindy said. "I haven't met her, but I know who you're talking about. Abby told me that Duncan used to have a crush on Botan."

"She showed me that I shouldn't treat my friends the way I've been treating you all lately," Jo explained. "And she was right."

"You really shouldn't," Cindy said, crossing her arms. "Jo, I don't know what your life was like before we met, but you should treat us with our own levels of respect, even if Eddy and Duncan get on your nerves a lot. It usually seems like the only people you care about are Justine or Autumn."

"Oh, like you all don't treat anyone else like that." Jo rolled her eyes slightly.

"Okay, I do admit that I do that sometimes, but I've felt bad about it and remembered to apologize for it later." Cindy replied.

"Well, this is gonna be different," Jo reassured. "But I feel bad about it, and I'll be sure to apologize in the meantime. I'm not gonna treat my friends like that. I'll tell you one thing, my friends are my friends and my enemies are my enemies."

"That's more like it." Cindy smiled in approval.

"Eh, fair enough," Jo shrugged. "It'll take some time, I guess."

"Just take it one step at a time, and whatever you do, don't be an Eva." Cindy advised.

"Trust me, I intend to not do that." Jo replied.

"Come on, we better join the others," Cindy said. "We have a long ride home. Say, didn't Mystery Inc already travel to the Himalayas together?" 

"...Yeah, I think you're right," Jo replied. "Against that creep Alphonse LaFleur and his lady friend, Coco LaBouche or whatever her name was... With the help of those... Uh... Mew Mew Power wannabes, The Protectors." she then added, covering up her identity as one of The Protectors, even if Dakota's cousin Courtney became an honorary one after that adventure.

"Man, I'd like to meet the Protectors someday," Cindy soon smiled like a fan girl. "It would be an honor to meet them."

Jo soon walked off to go with Cindy onto the jet plane to go back home since the adventure was over.

Shaggy took out a scary looking mask before sharing a laugh with Vincent, Scooby, and Vinny.

"I'm just glad Velma didn't say anything like the 13 Ghosts with Vincent, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo were just hallucinations or something," Trent said to Brianna. "I think that would've really pissed some people off."

"Tell me about it." Brianna muttered slightly.

"But I don't understand," Eddy spoke up. "What grabbed me, Ed, Double D, Jo, Fred, and Velma?"

"What do you mean? We already established this is all real and Velma was wrong, end of story." Brianna said to him.

"Actually, it was the ski lift that Eddy and I got our clothes caught onto by accident." Double D clarified.

"And you ruined it," Brianna sighed. "We could've had a happy ending with Velma being wrong and saying this was all true, but you just had to say that."

"Hey, now, go easy on Sockhead," Eddy said. "At least she didn't hear it."

"Still, I can't believe that the chest was in Shaggy's luggage the entire time." Brianna commented.

"Convenient!" Jo scoffed as that seemed like lazy writing.

Velma soon began to open the chest which made everyone panic. 

"Okay, I'm taking this before you ruin this story any further," Vinny said, taking the chest away. "Let's just admit that ghosts, goblins, and monsters are real, and have a happy, supernatural ending, so we don't piss of anyone who might think otherwise, especially those who admire my Uncle Vincent van Ghoul."

"Ugh... Fine." Velma soon groaned.

Flim-Flam then smirked to her.

"Thank you!" Jo said to Vinny.

"You're welcome." Vinny smiled innocently.

A horn soon honked before there came a car with a girl with frizzy brown hair, pointed ears, fangs, and lime-green eyes soon pulled up.

"There's my ride," Vinny said as she walked off. "See ya guys later."

"Call me!" Flim-Flam called out.

"Don't worry, I will." Vinny promised.

"Ready to go?" Vinny's friend asked.

"Yeah, Veralupe, let's go." Vinny smiled.

The two soon got into the car and rode off to The Magic Academy.

"I'll call you later, Uncle Vince!" Vinny called out.

"Behave yourself!" Vincent told her.

"Sure thing!" Vinny replied.

Everyone waved goodbye to Vinny who waved back to her friends and crush.

"Oh, hey! Shaggy, here's that case you asked for!" Flim-Flam smiled as he brought out a box with numerous bottles in it.

Shaggy smiled before taking one out.

"Lotsa Luck Joy Juice!" Daphne smiled. "Aww... Flim-Flam, I remember this stuff."

Brianna and Daphne kissed Flim-Flam on both of his cheeks and he smiled bashfully to the two of them.

"Told you it could melt anything." Flim-Flam smiled to Fred.

"Like, are ya sure you don't wanna join us on our Trans-Haunt-Lantic Flight?" Shaggy asked Flim-Flam before laughing with Vincent, making a spooky pun.

"Nah. Somebody's gotta stick around and tell the tourists the tale of Asmodeus: The Demon King who almost ruled the world!" Flim-Flam replied.

"And make a tiny profit of the merchandise, I suspect?" Velma guessed.

"Don't worry, Vince," Flim-Flam smiled, putting his hand on the wizard's shoulder. "I'll leave old Mortifer's name out of it."

"Thank you, Flim-Flam," Vincent smiled back. "I'll see you when I'm in town for my coven's next meeting."

Everyone soon waved to Flim-Flam and said goodbye as they went into the back of the jet plane.

"And for ghoulness sake's, Flim-Flam, stay out of trouble!" Vincent told him on the way to the others.

"No promises, Vinnie!" Flim-Flam chuckled.

"That's my boy." Vincent smirked as he waved out of amusement once it was time to go.

The plane took off as the teen boy waved them goodbye.

"Bye!" Flim-Flam called out before giving a small smile. "So long, sports fans."

Fred looked out the window, looking upset.

"Everything okay?" Daphne asked him.

"Yeah..." Fred sighed. "Just thinking about our impending retirement."

"Well, as my last official act as leader, I'm calling it off." Daphne smiled to him.

"Huh?" Fred replied.

"This is what we do best, Freddy," Daphne smiled. "I'm not ready to give it up just because we made one tiny mistake, and by the way, I'm still not convinced Old Farmer Morgan was totally innocent."

"I AGREE!" Velma glared as she soon stood up behind them. "First off, the guy's boot prints were all over the ghost's secret lair! Second--"

"Imitation yak jerky?" Shaggy offered as now he was dressed as a female flight attendant. "Imitation yak jerky anyone?"

"Hang on a second, Shaggy. If you're back here, who's flying the plane?" Trent asked until he soon went to the cockpit to see Scooby dressed as a pilot, driving the plane.

"Scooby-Dooby-Doo!" Scooby giggled.

As Scooby was flying everyone home, Botan was watching them with a smile.

"Well, it looks like she's gonna keep that promise after all." Botan smiled to herself.

Jo glanced out the window. Botan waved as she flew by on her oar. Jo soon looked around and waved back before Botan flew off into the sky, until the next adventure.

The End


End file.
